At the announcement of the third annual Bahamas Film Festival yesterday, Phil Burrows, Bahamian film director and producer, said that many of the films shot on location recently in The Bahamas sent out the wrong perception of Bahamians to the international community through counterfeit Bahamian accents and sentence phrases.
"I think people have to be careful about equating movies filmed in The Bahamas with Bahamian films because they are not the same," he said.
He used the example of the popular film 'After the Sunset' that was filmed in New Providence and Paradise Island and said that the film was a poor representation of The Bahamas and who Bahamians truly are.
Similar traits were said to be observed in several other films such as "I Still Snow What You Did Last Summer", "My Father the Hero", "Jaws II" with Mario Van Peebles, an American actor, playing the part of a native Bahamian, and the "My Wife and Kids" show which filmed an episode at Atlantis.
"When film crew comes and shoots in The Bahamas they are only using the location. Its just like if you are renting a room. Its just scene to them."
He said in the film After the Sunset, to his surprise, the film company had decided that they would bring in a dialect trainer from Los Angeles to teach the actors the Bahamian dialect. However he said that he worked on the project as the assistant dialect coach.
"Bahamians are not Jamaicans and there is a bad misconception in the industry with films trying to convey that we are through speech," said Vivica Watson, actress and entertainer.
Celi Moss, president of the Bahamas Film Festival and the Bahamas Film Society, said that this is why the festival is seeking to promote more Bahamian filmmakers within the industry because no one knows The Bahamas better than Bahamians.
"This is why I wanted us to do something different – to develop a five-year or ten-year plan and as a result you'd see Sidney Potiers 'dropping like rain' so to speak."
He said that more films with true Bahamian content are needed in the industry and this means that Bahamian filmmakers must rise to the occasion and meet the demands required.
The Bahamas Film Festival is set to take place on August 9th to the 12th 2006 and this year will be staged in partnership with The Bahamas Cancer Society.
By: VIRAJ PERPALL, The Nassau Guardian
