Preview/Trailer
Jamaican “Against-The-Odds”
Boxing Drama “Ghett’a Life”
The indiwire.com blog has featured the trailer from Ghett’a Life, qhich is scrrening at the Caribbean Tales 2011 Toronto Film Showcase.
In a recent post about Warrior I think it was, I made a remark about being over seeing inspirational dramas about white fighters (whether boxers, wrestlers, MMA, etc) that seem to have become fashionable again in Hollywood in the last 4 or 5 years – 2 of them have been Oscar contenders, one is likely going to be given the buzz, and another was recently announced with Eminem starring and Antoine Fuqua directing.
Well, here’s an “against-the-odds” drama centered on the story of a young black teenager, set in Jamaica, struggling to realize his dream as a champion boxer, with a politically turbulent community (including his family) as the film’s backdrop.
Titled Ghett’a Life, the film is the work of Jamaican director Chris Browne, whose last film, released in 1999, a violent micro-budgeted crime drama titled Third World Cop), was well-received in Jamaica, reportedly breaking box office records there, earning Ja$21 million (or about $250,000).
Ghett’a Life made its North American debut yesterday, Tuesday, September 13 as part of CaribbeanTales 2011 Toronto Film Showcase, screening at Harbourfront Centre’s Studio Theatre, at 7:30pm. For tickets, the schedule and general information about the CaribbeanTales Film Showcase and Market Incubator, visit www.caribbeantales-events.com.
And now the rest of the film’s story… trailer underneath:
Ten years in the making, the wholly Jamaican film, funded by local investors and featuring indigenous talent and music, is a high octane no holds-barred depiction of what life is and can be like in inner city Kingston.
Derrick dreams of being Jamaica’s next world light weight boxing champion. He knew from an early age that he had the ability to out box even the bigger boys on his lane but it’s election year and politics divide the country and Derrick’s community. His father, a loyal party supporter, forbids Derrick from going to the boxing gym, as to do so he has to cross party lines.
Derrick defiantly follows his heart and is confronted with the serious repercussions of his decision. The don of Derrick’s community, Sin, is set on keeping him from crossing over to the “other side” even if it means destroying Derrick’s dream and Derrick’s father is so blinded by political tribalism that he sees Derrick’s actions as betrayal. On the “other side” , at the gym, is a coach who becomes Derrick’s mentor and someone who shows him that Jamaica is bigger than just one community and that Derrick’s dreams are worth fighting for.
Derrick’s journey of discovery takes the audience through his coming of age and the realisation that anything that divides cannot be good for anyone. The ignorance of divisiveness gives way to the triumph that comes with unity.
Ghett’A Life, a Jamrock film production, is written and directed by Chris Browne and stars Teddy Price, O’Daine Clarke, Chris McFarlane, Etana and Lenford Salmon. Browne, winner of the Grand Prize at the Hartley Merrill International Screenwriting Competition for Ghett’a Life at Cannes in 2006, has made it his passion to grow a film culture in the Jamaica. Ghett’a Life is his second feature film – his Third World Cop, released in 1999, still holds the record as the largest grossing Jamaican film of all time.
The CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase, among other goals, aims to raise the international profile of Caribbean film, support the growth of a vibrant world-class Caribbean film and television industry, and serve as a platform for promoting the Caribbean as a premier warm weather travel destination and location for film production.
Now in its sixth year, the 2011 Toronto Film Showcase, and the recently introduced Market Incubator, returns from September 7 to 17, 2011, engaging families, youth, community groups, and the celluloid industry in a program that includes workshops, screenings, networking sessions, and other activities all celebrating the burgeoning film and television sector in the Caribbean.
Many exciting films will be screened during the 10-day showcase which also features a market access incubator for Caribbean filmmakers, including Antigua’s The Skin, a mythological thriller that draw on Caribbean mythology, that will have its Red Carpet Launch on Friday 16th September.
For the original report go to http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/archives/2011/09/12/preview_trailer_jamaican_against-the-odds_boxing_drama_ghetta_life/
