Georgetown, Guyana - Mondale Smith
7/15/2010

Like the salt of the earth Guyanese can be found in almost any sphere of work the world over and US based Guyanese Neil Anthony Bacchus is no exception.

Hailed from Berbice, Bacchus is a video engineer, producer, director, cameraman and video editor who did the post production work on the recently premiered all Guyanese cast movie ‘till I find a place.’
Popular in some circles for his dedication to his craft, loyalty to his clients and unbelievable honesty he is revered by family, friends and peers, as “A man known to keep his word.”

As CEO of the 1998 establishment, Stealth Productions Company located in the USA, Bacchus has vowed and is working steadily to bring Guyanese talents to the music and movie mainstream and is continually on his quest.
He says “video production is my second skin, it comes naturally and I like to be in control of each project, from the minuscule detail to the difficult tasks because everything deserves my full attention as a perfectionist’” he said.

Bacchus has shot, directed, produced and edited more than 20 music videos and countless television commercials and has in the past years worked on the entertainment Guyanese driven productions such as ‘Laff Til Yuh Belly Bust’ with Mahadeo Shivraj and more recently, collaborated with Shivraj Productions on the highly acclaimed movie, ‘Till I find A Place’ which was premiered in Guyana, in the early last month.
Next on his radar, is another collaboration of Stealth Productions and Mahadeo Shivraj Productions, on their second Stage Play by Ronald Hollingsworth turned Screenplay by Mahadeo Shivraj, the movie, My Brother, My Wife and I.

After working with numerous personalities, artists and various types of projects, many believe that Bacchus has made his mark in many areas of production but to him its humbly doing what he does to sell his country and it’s people’s talents.
With the final project, Till I find A Place, about to go on tour both nationally and internationally he said only the best can be expected out of the Stealth Productions Studios.
With his extensive video production knowledge, Bacchus offers his services to other companies, as well as his peers and is a proud member of the Wedding and Event Videographers Association International (WEVA).
Apart from owning his own video production company, he is the manager and senior video technician for K.P. Pro Video, Inc. which services the professional video production trade to national and international clients.

Most of Neil Anthony Bacchus’s work can be seen on the internet, as well as, many Caribbean programs on various TV channels throughout New York’s vicinity. QPTV in Queens, MNN in Manhattan and OSM in Schenectady, feature a lot of Stealth Productions’ programs with up and coming artistes, local musicians and mainstream artistes on a show titled Xposed TV.
For more information one can log on to: www.stealthtv.com , www.xposedtv.com, www.youtube.com/stealthtv and www.myspace.com/stealthtv
At present he’s working exclusive with another artiste, Rachel Walker and has completed a hot new video and is currently working on a new one that will be released in a few months.
Speaking to entertainer he confessed that he has done work with artistes such as Evablazin, Nadeer Bacchus, Rory Jagdeo, Avirodh Sharma, DJ Dutty flex and Rick Ramdehal.

Bacchus got started in Film/Video after migrating to the USA in 1991. he said “I saw that our Guyanese people needed to step up our video production quality in order to get noticed and taken seriously and that motivated me.”

In Guyana he attended the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School but furthered his video production studies in the USA at the Film, Video Arts Institute in Manhattan.

With an ultimate Goal to show the world that Guyanese have talent too through his Stealth Production and Xposed TV show he said is “hoping some day our people too can win awards like The Academy, Grammys, etc.

Married to Sarah Bacchus a Fashion Designer who is also the host of Xposed TV he is the father of Avangeline Rayne Bacchus aged 3.
When asked what his message is to aspiring persons in his craft he said “If you wish to take part in this craft, give it your all and do your best, we are competing with the world and we must bring our “A’ game.”

 

Mondale Smith

Guyana taking its place in movie industry – Till I find a Place premieres
Georgetown, GINA, June 24, 2010
The movie taken from the Guyanese play “Till I find a Place” premiered at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) last evening amidst high hopes about Guyana finding its place in the movie industry.
In the presence of a large gathering, including the cast and crew, many of whom are overseas-based Guyanese, the movie was screened after remarks by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who was performing the duties of president at the time, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Director Mahadeo Shivraj, writer Ronald Hollingsworth and promoter Neaz Subhan.
The movie presents profound social commentary, through drama and comedy, capturing all the elements of social problems and interpersonal relationships in the Guyanese society.

It is based on a couple David and Sonia of Campbellville, Georgetown who were living peacefully until Sonia’s friend Donna was invited to say for a while after she (Donna) claimed that her home was demolished by a storm.
The offer was made by Sonia against the wishes of her husband with the understanding that Donna will stay until she finds a place of her own. However the saga took a turn when Sonia travelled temporarily to the United States of America and Donna was left alone in the home with David.
The cast are as follows: lead actress Sonia Yarde (as Donna), lead actor Mahadeo Shivraj (as David), Shondell Marshall (sister of Donna), Liyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones (Eddie, Donna’s boyfriend).

Hollingsworth, the writer said he responded without hesitation when he was approached to make a movie out of the play and considers it is a step for Guyana in the movie industry.
Shivraj said his dream of being involved in movies dates back to his early childhood days when he witnessed the making of a prominent movie.
He said since then he made attempts on several occasions to get an opportunity to act but was unsuccessful until he was given a break by Subhan at the NCC. He has since been involved in several acts including Rainbow Raani where he auditioned.
The experience has taught Shivraj a number of valuable lessons including making full use of the multitude of local talent.

“I figured that if I were to ever make a movie I would use my own Guyanese people and that is what I did. Not only the cast but the entire crew is Guyanese. This is a very proud moment for me,” Shivraj said.
Shivraj said he is now dedicated to that career even though there are “no guarantees,” but vows to keep trying.
The shooting of the movie took place since 2007, and according to Subhan, was delayed because of many unforeseen circumstances before coming to fruition this year.
He used the occasion to thank the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T), COURTS and Lucky Dollar among the major sponsors.
With sound tracks done by local singers and several other features, the movie is slightly different from the play.
The movie was launched in New York, via the television show, “Xposed TV,” owned by Stealth Productions and will also be premiered locally in Linden, Essequibo, Berbice and regionally and international in the Caribbean, Canada and London.

Minister Anthony considers the movie the start of a new chapter for cultural and creative industries which are sometimes taken for granted in Guyana.
“If you look at what has been happening around the world, creative industries contribute a lot of money to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of those countries. We in Guyana have a golden opportunity. Some people have not been exploiting it enough, but we have a lot of creativity and we have not been able to take that to the next level and I think what we are seeing here is an effort by a number of Guyanese to move us into that direction,” Minister Anthony said.
Prime Minister Hinds also shared similar sentiments about the important role cinemas play, in not only employment and revenue but also education and edutainment.
Mr. Hinds recalled that a number of past movies premiered locally, including one by Eddie Grant of which many Guyanese were unaware. He said Guyana and neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago have in the past produced several movies inspired by the experience of their country’s history that have exposed the country’s heritage to the rest of the world.
He welcomed this new production, expressing the hope that it is the start of sustained movie making in Guyana.
The directors and producers have assured that Guyanese can look forward to more productions, “100 times better” than before.

PM receives courtesy call from “Till I find a place” Screenwriter.
Georgetown, GINA, June 15, 2010

In recent years there has been an increase in arts and drama production in Guyana owing to the enabling environment created by Government. Improvements in facilities such as the National Cultural Centre (NCC) which accommodates most events of this nature is testimony to Government’s dedication towards the advancement of this field.
Screenwriter and Director, Mahadeo Shivraj and Promoter, Neaz Subhan of the movie “Till I find a place” today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at his Office at Wight’s Lane, Kingston. In addition, invitations for the premier of the movie on June 23 at NCC were presented to Prime Minister Hinds.

Mr. Hinds indicated that making the movie in Guyana was a good idea and great medium of advertising the country. He alluded to the fact that the physical condition of Georgetown has changed with the erection of big buildings and visibly maintained structures.
He highlighted that the beauty of the city has also been enhanced, but the issue of littering needs to be taken seriously. It was also noted that the Mayor and City Council has to do more to further improve the City.
Since the movie utilises only Guyanese talents, Prime Minister Hinds noted that it can allow for the marketing of local artistes.
Prime Minister Hinds indicated that many places around the world make films with low cost cameras and they are being marketed.
With respect to further marketing Guyana and the movie, he advised that, “Probably you should venture and sell it to a company on the web, one that focuses on diasporas.”
Shivraj who is no stranger to directing and the arts and drama field noted that the movie was originally a play named “Till ah find a place” written by a Guyanese, Ronald Hollingsworth.
The movie which was shot in Guyana highlights many important landmarks including the Umana Yana and the Light House. Shivraj noted that the movie provides an opportunity to promote Guyana as a tourist destination. In addition, it will also enlighten Guyanese who have departed years ago to North America and Canada of the transformation that has taken placed in Guyana.
Besides promoting local actors including Sonia Yarde, Linden “Jumbie” Jones, Petal Burnette, and Alicia Persaud the film utilises nine songs from local singers.
Speaking on the content of the movie, he emphasised that it is a captivating drama with a serious storyline based on infidelity but will keep the audience laughing. He noted that although there are no nude scenes and obscene language in the movie a rating allowing viewers from 16 years and above has been applied.
“We had a private screening in New York with a select audience of Indo and Afro Guyanese ranging from 18 – 70 years and the reaction of the movie was fantastic,” Shivraj stated.
He further noted that he and his partners want to create a foundation for film making in Guyana. Shivraj indicated that the business community should get on board to foster the growth of the industry.

 

 Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Screenwriter and Director Mahadeo Shivraj and Promoter Neaz Subhan of “Till I find a place” at the Office of the Prime Minister, Wight’s Lane, Kingston during a courtesy call on the Prime Minister.

 

‘ Till I find a place’ to
premier on Wednesday

Would you take someone, even a friend, into your home?
‘ Till I find a place’, the spectacular local movie, will open on Wednesday, June 23, at the National Cultural Centre, and is expected to be nothing short of fabulous.
The movie, which is based upon the play of the same name, has an all- Guyanese cast. The cast includes lead actor/ direc tor Mahadeo Shivraj, Sonia Yarde, Lyndon Jones, Rajan Tiwari, Andre Wiltshire and Shondell Marshall. Cameo appearances will be made by Neaz Subhan, Petal Burnett, Kassia De Santos and Bibi Kadir.
Shivraj says the movie is one that cannot be missed.

The movie will run until June 27. It will then be shown at Lichas Hall in Linden on July 10; at New Amsterdam on July 3; at Skeldon on July 4; and in Essequibo on July 11.
“ Till I find a place” is a play written by Guyanese playwright Ronald Hollingsworth in 1991.
After acting in the play in Guyana, Shivraj directed it five times in New York.
He had always wanted to produce a movie based upon the play, and now it has become a reality.
Shivraj said that it took him three months to write the screenplay, and the movie was shot in 2007.
However, due to hiccups, the movie was set aside for some time, and in 2009 they began editing and recorded the nine songs for the movie.
Despite these glitches and financial constraints, the director said, he teamed up with Neil Bacchus of Stealth Productions in the U. S. to complete the movie.
Singers on the sound track include DJ Dutty Flex, Nadeer Bacchus, Rick Ramdehal, EvaBlazin and Rory Jagdeo, while back ground music is produced by Avirodh Sharma.

“ This movie will be very satisfying and very different from the few others we have had in Guyana. I am always making movies, and I feel we could have our own music industry,” Shivraj said.
Meanwhile, he said that plans are moving ahead for the filming of another movie, called “ My brother, my wife, and I”, in September and October this year.
Plans are also under way to produce the first Guyanese soap opera, “ Full Moon Dulahin”, which will be filmed in February next year.
“ Till I find a place” sneak peek: Dave and Sonia lived in Campbellville, Georgetown.

Everything was going well, until Sonia’s friend Donna makes an appearance at 3 o’clock one morning, claiming that her home had been demolished in a storm. Sonia takes her into their home, against the wishes of her husband, and offers to have her stay until she finds a place. But things take a turn when Sonia has to go to the USA and Donna is left alone in the home with Dave. The subsequent events will keep viewers at the edges of their seats.

Till ah find a place’ goes big-screen
Written by Michelle Gonsalves
Sunday, 20 June 2010 00:00

- cast ‘n crew wholly Guyanese
IF YOUR good friend showed up at your doorstep desperate for a place to stay, would you take her in? “Of course,” you say, but you just might change your mind after you see the web of deceit, intrigue and passion that unfolds in the soon-to-be-premiered movie, ‘Till I Find a Place to Stay’.
“It’s Guyanese; it’s as real as it gets,” says producer and director, Mahadeo Shivraj, of the movie which was filmed entirely in Guyana and features a seasoned cast of local actors.

Synopsis
The story begins with Dave (Mahadeo Shivraj) and Sonia (Alicia Persaud) living in Georgetown. One day, their tranquil existence is turned upside down when Sonia’s friend, Donna (Sonia Yarde) shows up at 3am and in need of a place to stay, as she claims that her home was destroyed in a storm.
Dave is not happy with this arrangement, as he has past resentments towards Donna’s meddling in the couple’s marital affairs. Donna, however, is welcomed by Sonia into the home until she is able to find a place of her own to stay.

The situation takes a dramatic turn when Sonia has to leave temporarily for the US, and Donna and Dave are left in the house alone. Every day Dave asks Donna when she is leaving and she says tomorrow. So one day, he says tomorrow never come, gets angry and puts out her bags. As the fight get heated, he ends up wrestling her down to the ground and the physical contact turns into a passionate lovemaking session.
Donna’s boyfriend, Eddie, is played by Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones, Shondell Marshall plays Donna’s sister, Petal, and Rajan Tiwari and Andre Wiltshire play Dave’s friends. Cameo appearances are made by Neaz Subhan, Petal Burnette, Kassia DeSantos and Bibi Kadir.

The movie is produced by Mahadeo Shivraj and Stealth Productions, with promotion from the dramatic arts committee.
No stranger to the world of movies, Shivraj has been active in the theatre for the past 23 years in the capacities of actor, producer, director and set designer. ‘Till I Find A Place’, which is based on an adaptation of Ronald Hollingsworth's popular 1991 stage play of the same name, is rated 16 years and over, Shivraj cautions.

Making his debut at the National Cultural Centre in Guyana, he has since acted in over 90 plays professionally both here and in the USA, directed another more than 30, and done the set design for them all.

The creator and director of the hit stage series, ‘Laff Till Yuh Belly Bust’ now in its seventh year of production, Shivraj has acted in such independent films as: ‘Playing Both Sides’; ‘Deep Trouble’; ‘Pressure’; ‘Snitch in New York’; ‘The Laverne Affair’; ‘Kicking It High’; ‘Sacrifice’; ‘Truth’; ‘Karma’ and ‘The Awakening’, and has done work as a background actor in many television shows like ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Hope and Faith’, ‘The Jury’, ‘Cosby’, and ‘Law and Order’.

He’s also featured in the movie, ‘Cop Shop’ with Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss, as an anesthesiologist in the TV Show, ‘3 lbs’, with Brook Shields in ‘Lipstick Jungle’, and with Ted Danson in ‘Damages’.

Currently lending his talents to quite a few humanitarian organizations in Guyana and the USA, Shivraj has been recognized by the City of New York for his work and has won awards from many different organisations.
The movie ‘Till I Find A Place’ marks his debut as a screenplay writer, film producer and film director. On top of it all, he plays the lead role in the film.
He studied at the Herbert Berghof Studios in New York City and New York University, and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
He is set to make a new film in October entitled ‘My Brother, My Wife and I’ for which he wrote the screenplay based on another Ronald Hollingsworth work in which he will be staring, as well as producing and directing.
He is also in preproduction mode for the first soap opera in Guyana, ‘Full Moon Dulahin’, in which he will also star, produce and direct. Shooting for ‘Full Moon Dulahin’ is scheduled to begin in February/March 2011.

Some nine songs were recorded for ‘Till I Find A Place’, and were done exclusively by Guyanese. Singers include DJ Dutty Flex, Nadeer Bacchus, Rick Ramdehol, Eva Blazing, and Rory Jagdeo. Background music was done by Avirodh Sharma, and after the movie premiers, it will travel to NY, Canada, Florida and all other places.

‘Till I Find A Place’ is due to be released at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) this Wednesday and run until June 27, and will be at Lichas Hall in Linden on July 10; in New Amsterdam and Skeldon on July 3 and 4 respectively; and on the Essequibo Coast on July 11.

More information can be had at: http://www.stealthtv.com/index.php/links

The Caribbean film and cinema industry is more than forty years old. In the beginning it was considered a proud achievement when a scene or two from a Hollywood movie was shot on location in one of the islands or in Guyana. It was a mark of arrival if one appeared in a crowd scene and the certain status of hero for any local actor who landed a bit part. Any claim of connection to or part ownership of Hollywood actors or contact with the international cinema was a source of national pride, before the enterprise to create original local films began to emerge.

Jamaica’s claim to fame was that Errol Flynn had a home in Port Antonio and Harry Belafonte had parentage connections and could be claimed by Jamaica. The Bahamas was envied because Sidney Poitier had similar roots there. The movie Island in the Sun also lent some fame to Jamaica and a crowning achievement was the set and shooting in the island of the James Bond classic Dr No, in which there was a brief glimpse of Byron Lee. Trinidad’s celebrated Cedric Connor was a genuine actor with substantive roles and a career in Hollywood and London. Guyana’s Norman Beaton had a lesser career in London.

There are more such claims, but the Caribbean film industry has moved a long way from that stage to the point where it now is. There are still movies with partial or qualified claims. A foreign company, Line Tree Cinema shot Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea in Jamaica with several Jamaicans in the cast. Merchant Ivory of British and Indian ownership filmed Naipaul’s The Mystic Masseur in Trinidad; the BBC filmed Jeanette Allfrey’s The Orchid House and Ian McDonald’s Humming Bird Tree in the 1990s. One of the biggest hits in the cinema was To Sir With Love from the novel by Guyanese born ER Braithwaite, but it was an entirely Hollywood-British affair with Sidney Poitier in the lead role and a famous title song by Lulu which topped the charts. Cool Runnings, likewise is all about a legendary Jamaican bobsled entry in the Winter Olympics of all things, but was not Jamaica made.

Real local full-length films began to show a glimmer somewhere in the 1960s and properly took off in 1972 with the movie that is still the flagship, signal event, The Harder They Come by Perry Henzell and Trevor Rhone. No other effort has surpassed it as a film for the cinema big screen that actually broke in to the international mainstream. It also has a famous title song by Jimmy Cliff which climbed the charts in its own right. Another of similar magnitude that emerged in 2002 is a documentary about Jamaica’s economy and its struggle (mainly Michael Manley’s) with the IMF and poverty alleviation. It is titled Life and Debt with an obvious pun, and is as much about the inside machinations of international monetary agencies as it is about Jamaica.

Those are still the outstanding giants despite several others for the cinema that have been successful. Yet the industry across the region is uneven in development and achievement with a lop-sided skew towards Jamaican production. That island will name Lunatic, Rockers, Paradise Hotel, Dancehall Queen and continue counting. Then there are many others of lesser vintage such as Trinidad’s Girl from India, Caribbean Fox and The Right and the Wrong, as well as a real major achievement out of Suriname: a movie about race relations in colonial Suriname called Wan Pipel.

The Caribbean film has developed to the point where it is now a major university study led by such scholars as Jane Bryce at UWI Cave Hill and Jean Antoine and Bruce Paddington at St Augustine. Jane Bryce also leads a well-established film festival in Barbados fuelled by this industry. This, however, includes much more than the cinema, because there are many with intellectual, artistic and experimental form and content, and what has grown and thrived is films for television and across the region. This includes the work of Ken Corsbie in Barbados and Michael Gilkes who made his own version of Wide Sargasso Sea. Added to those is the industry that has made great strides, of particular note in Trinidad – the commercial video industry tied to advertising and documentary production.

Guyana has also made overtures to full-length movies and has had many efforts at developing a film industry. The most worthy of the early efforts was If Wishes Were Horses that included comedian Habeeb Khan. The name of Vivian Lee has been associated with those, as are Corsbie and Gilkes with later works. A novel by Sheik Sadeek, The Song of the Sugarcanes, was made into a film in the 1980s. The quality of this work is flawed, but it is a venture deserving of praise as a novel seriously written to challenge the atrocities of estate life in British Guiana and a fairly pioneering film made by beginners in a genuine effort to advance a movie industry. There were several others in between of dubious achievement, including Rainbow Raani which was a total failure. Among the most accomplished was one of the latest, Guiana 1838, which is not first class, but a serious venture that researched and fictionalised Indian indentureship and the heroic efforts of one migrant to expose its horrors on Gladstone’s estates.

The newest of these films with ambitions of establishing a Guyanese movie industry is also among the most praiseworthy. It is Till I Find A Place, a screen version of a stage play by Ronald Hollingsworth (Hollingsworth titled it Till Ah Find a Place) one of the most popular and often repeated local Guyanese popular plays. It was made into a movie by a production team of Mahadeo Shivraj and Neill Anthony Bacchus, the technical editor, in collaboration with the Dramatic Arts Academy headed by Neaz Subhan. It was directed by Shivraj, who also wrote the screenplay and is an interesting attempt to restructure a playscript for the screen. One recalls a previous work in which Paloma Mohamed made a (mainly television) film out of her popular play Jezebel.

The transformation is no pushover as one is dealing with two different media with different demands, and what succeeds on stage will not necessarily work on screen. Mahadeo Shivraj’s attempt on this occasion works well enough as he has managed to create a worthwhile film that will stand on its own before audiences who have never seen the play. But it is still a bit hampered by some of the hazards facing a director who was faithful to the play; the work is not entirely free of some of the stage play characteristics and is not independent of Hollingsworth’s drama. Yet it is good in its own right and will definitely advance the cause of a Guyanese film industry that has been trying, with various fits and starts, to establish itself for more than forty years.

To achieve this requires an audience, talent, imagination, creativity, technical capacity and funding. Till I Find A Place aptly demonstrates that the talent is there but that the essential ingredient of money is in short supply. It is a low budget film that achieves very much despite that constraint, but betrays a few examples of what happens in cases like these. There is not so much sophistication and high-tech camera work and a visual, spectacular sense of place is limited. Scenes are shot in limited, confined and circumscribed locations, mostly indoors and almost entirely in two rooms of a house. Advantage is not taken in outdoor scenes to give more of a sense of place and the Georgetown setting. Yet there are sequences of creative camera work and angles.

Hollingworth’s play is popular theatre taking advantage of a potentially comic situation designed to thrill the audience. Donna suffers misfortune when her house is accidentally destroyed and her friend Sonia takes her in to stay in her home “till she can find a place” to live. Sonia’s husband Dave despises Donna and is most upset with her presence in his house. But when Sonia has to go overseas for an extended stay, he is overcome by Donna’s seductive allure and they have a passionate affair, leading to complications and conflict when Sonia returns. Shivraj’s screenplay is faithful to Hollingsworth’s text to the point where some of the dangers of turning a play into a film are not always overcome. The film uses words more than pictures, speech more than screen action to tell the story; but while this is noticeable, it does not kill the film.

The acting is good all round with Shivraj in the lead, playing a very believable Dave. As a highly competent actor, he commands moods, situations and changes and coordinates very well with the others. The talented and versatile Sonia Yarde is very convincing in the role of the femme fatale with a streak of the maverick, who spells temptation but inevitable destruction for Dave. Yarde makes the most of a vivacious and seductively attractive, if devious character that actresses would dream of, combining with Shivraj to create a memorable couple and an unforgettable love affair for which the film will be noted. The erotic love scenes are well handled. This is a characteristic of the film because they work well with Shivraj and Alisha Persaud who plays Sonia as well.

One gets accustomed to Persaud as the film progresses and her quiet competence and effectiveness grow on the viewer. Rajan Tiwari is another actor who is comfortable meeting the different demands of screen performance. The other members of the cast are Andre Wiltshire, Shaundell Marshall and Neaz Subhan. There was no weak acting.

While there are many truly hilarious moments, the film’s main focus is not laughter as in the case of the play. It is a melodrama with reflections on human relationships and some aspects of the housing situation in Georgetown. The weakest part of both play and film is the closing dialogue at the end, which tends to trivialise the plot and situations that developed and the audience was beginning to take seriously. However, jarring as it is, it is not the last thing one remembers at the end of the film, which holds its own regardless.

It will impress as a work of some merit. It will advance the cause of the continuing endeavour to develop a movie industry in Guyana, although worthy efforts along this road have so far been sporadic. Till I Find A Place demonstrates the presence of talent, and while funding still seems to be scarce, one may hope that perseverance is not.

Ronald Hollingsworth’s tremendously popular play, Till I Find A Place has been adapted for the big screen and in another few days the film will be screened for the first time in Guyana.

Till I Find A Place, which was shot in Guyana opens on Wednesday and runs until June 27 at the National Culture Centre (NCC). Director, Mahadeo Shivraj makes his screenwriting debut for the project and he also has a starring role in the film.

In the synopsis provided, it is revealed that Dave and Sonia lived in Campbellville, Georgetown. Everything was going well until Sonia’s friend Donna makes an appearance 3 o’clock one morning claiming that her home had been demolished in a storm. Sonia takes her into their home against the wishes of her husband until she can find a place. But things take a turn when Sonia has to leave temporarily for the USA and Donna is left alone in the home with Dave. “The events that unravel will keep you at the edge of your seat,” the director says.

The question throughout the film is whether to trust a friend enough to take them into your home. Shivraj said Hollingsworth would be travelling to Guyana for the first screening. He said the project is a dream come true for many people, noting that the entire cast is Guyanese and that Guyanese music features throughout the film.

Following the screening in the city the film would be shown across the country in Essequibo, Linden and Berbice.

Executive producers for the film include Shivraj and Neil Bacchus. The cast includes Shivraj. Sonia Yarde, Alisha Persaud, Andre Wiltshire, Shondell Marshall, Linden ‘Jumbie’ Jones and Rajan Tiwari.

Cast of “Till I find a place” calls on Culture Minister

Georgetown, GINA, June 21, 2010

Cast of the movie “Till I find a place,” today paid a courtesy call on Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony at his Main Street office.
            The cast included playwright, Ronald Hollingsworth; Editor, Neil Bacchus; Screenwriter and Director, Mahadeo Shivraj; Promoter, Neaz Subhan and main actors of the movie that was shot in Guyana and highlights various parts of the country.   Minister Anthony said the fact that an overseas group can share their film-producing expertise is a step in the right direction.
            He added that there is scope for development of the film industry in the country, and the movie is the first step in pioneering that path.
            Persons should be inspired by the making of the local film, thus wanting to create more films and it will encourage competitions among various producers, Minister Anthony said.

This will allow film competitions to take place in the country and encourage foreigners as well as locals to be interested in what film-makers have in store to entertain them.
Minister Anthony said that the Ministry will always be there to assist in the productions of local films as they would develop the country’s film industry.
Bacchus, who has come back to Guyana after 19 years stated that the movie will showcase the country, its richness and talented citizens to the rest of the world.
The Movie was launched in New York, on the television show, “Xposed TV,” which is owned by Stealth Productions, thus taking the movie to international markets.
Bacchus added that the movie is slightly different from the play, since sound tracks are added, which were sung by local singers.
Hollingsworth stated that the movie will be a launch of a generation of new movies in the country.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony poses with cast of the movie, “Till I Find a Place,” at the Culture Ministry, Main Street.