The Unbelieving Mom is one of two films to be released this year by local musician and director Bonny Alves under Ssignal Productions.
The 30-minute film stars Roshan Khan, Guyana Top Model Yohlanda Kerr who is now making her debut performance and famed dramatist Jennifer ‘Mariatha Causway’ Thomas along with Gerard Gilkes, Galvin Hinds, Anastasia Sanford, Malachi Richards, Abigail Brower and Charles Griffith.
“It is purely a Guyanese movie” said Alves. “It is about a mother failing to recognise her daughter is being sexually abused by her spouse. We thought it was a necessary topic because it is our moral obligation as actors to expose this ill. It is causing a lot of harm and plaguing our society.”
Alves wrote the screenplay and directed the film. His partner Charmaine Blackman served as the producer. Alves expressed that there were a lot of major challenges when making the motion picture, like finances and coordinating the cast which proved difficult because of the time schedule of each; most of the cast have day jobs.
Although the actors knew of the possibility of not being paid, they still volunteered their time and talent for a cause. Jennifer Thomas, who is also Manager of the Theatre Guild of Guyana expressed that the movie serves as a means of strengthening a voice and the realisation that actors in the industry need to work together to push the art form forward without any barriers. She spoke strongly against the ban and censorship of the 2013 calypsos.
Like the other actors in the film, Kerr said she is totally against sexual abuse and this film was a gateway for her expression that such acts of violence is wrong.
Roshan Khan, who played a school principal, called for major promotion and distribution of the film by both the private sector and the government.
“This movie is not just entertainment, it is education. It can educate the population on social issues and help them,” Khan said. He further expressed that such a film is needed in Guyanese society.
The movie’s setting was in the capital and it promises to be one of both entertainment and education. The premiere is set for 18:00 hrs on Friday, March 8 at Avinash Theatre Complex. Admission is $1,000 and children are welcome. The director hopes to show the movie for three more Fridays after that with the permission of the theatre management.
