The theatre stood a colossal giant surrounded by a sea of little people as I neared its entrance. The scene reminded me of the book Gulliver’s Travel, except the ‘little people’ here were not vicious tiny creatures, out to kill a rather large and unwelcomed guest. They were Jamaicans from all walks of life, out to see the premiere of Jeremy Whittaker’s film, ‘Destiny’. Sure enough, October 15, 2014 was to be no ordinary night at Crib 5 theatre in Cross Roads, St. Andrew.
‘Destiny’ is an independent romance drama, set in Jamaica with scenes from Canada. It tells the story of Lisa Pullen, played by lead actress Karian Sang, as she liberates herself from the manipulation and unfaithfulness of her boyfriend Micheal, and into her own, following the death of both parents.
She must take charge of her deceased father’s assets, including property he owned in Jamaica, however when Lisa moves from her home in Canada to the Island, she realizes quickly that there’s a lot more drama and confusion laying in wait, than perhaps she is cut out to handle, in this gripping saga of approximately two hours, with brilliantly developed themes on love, betrayal and family relationships.
When I got inside the theatre I was amazed, yet quite pleased to see a flurry of popular faces from Jamaica’s media, music, sports and acting fraternities; whisking about the popcorn fragrant complex like an ordinary day at the movies. From Usain Bolt, to ‘Tifa’, Miss Kitty and Christopher Martin, I was forced to hold my composure, as nothing of this sort was expected. I didn’t bother about the red carpet, nor pre-movie photo-ops with celebrities, either because I didn’t go with that expectation, or I was too shy, I can’t seem to remember.
Attendees were ushered into a palatial theatre, with cushioned chairs spread throughout an expanse as wide as African savannas, with high ceilings and a monstrous screen from which Jeremy’s work would unfold. No sooner than formal welcome and introductions were made by partners and sponsors, than the theatre curtains unfolded and the movie began to thunderous applause.
Born in Kingston Jamaica, Jeremy Whittaker who is the Director/Producer of ‘Destiny’, dreamed of becoming a doctor in his youth, but fell in love with media as he interned with a local production house.
Later, he migrated to Canada where he registered with The University of Toronto, majoring in Communication, Culture and Information Technology (CCIT), focused on Film Production. Simultaneously, he completed a certificate course in Digital Communication, at Sheridan College Institute Technology and Advanced Learning, returning to Jamaica after completing his studies, where he worked for Television Jamaica Ltd. as a Producer on Smile Jamaica.
He returned to live in Toronto, Canada in 2010 and involved himself with the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), working with the Assistant Director team on productions for MTV, FOX, NBC, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, eOne Entertainment and Dreamworks.
I had a chat with Jeremy and a few members of his cast including Ian “Ity” Ellis from The Ity and Fancy Cat show, Munair Zacca formerly of Royal Palm Estate and Lyndon Forte who played Micheal, the wealthy and obnoxious ex-boyfriend of Lisa in the movie.
“I was lucky to be recruited to be a part of Jeremy’s movie. He called me and told me of the upcoming film. I have never been in a movie, but the idea has always interested me” said Ian, who played a precocious taxi operator, Prince responsible for transporting Lisa from the airport to her home in Jamaica. According to Ian, he drew inspiration for his role from a former taxi operator he knows well and calls Magiva.
“He is a lively person, extremely fun to be around and gives a lot of jokes that will have you rolling on the floor if you are not careful.”
Contrastingly, Munair Zacca played the role of a well heeled and astute attorney, who had to mediate between Lisa Pullen and her father’s ‘sweetheart’, played by Jamaican DJ, ‘Spice’. She demands half of the property formerly owned by the deceased and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, especially since she is the mother of his child.
“It was not a difficult role for me to play. I have played the role of lawyers many times for other productions and so I fell quite comfortably into my part for this film. Zacca had very high praises for ‘Destiny’, though he did not think the story line was new, but gave the film a whopping 9 out of 10 for overall quality. “I believe the landscape for film production in Jamaica is rich, as we have enormous talent here that rivals Hollywood. I am proud of Jeremy and his achievement through this film, and welcome new talent to take up the mantle of film production also”.
For his part, Lyndon Forte who currently resides in Florida, had to audition for his role in the movie. Never mind that he is a relative of Jeremy Whittaker. “He just called me up one afternoon and said yo I want to shoot a movie! I have acted before in different productions, but never an actual movie, so I was all for this. I actually auditioned for the role in his backyard” Lyndon emphasized, laughing as he shared how very well he got along with the other actors on set, even though he was the antagonist in the film.
As I watched, I sat in pride at the strong production quality and believability I felt from most of the actors, one patron next to me however felt that Karian Sang was not believable enough, especially toward the beginning of the film. This was little distraction from the breathtaking aerial shots of various parts in Jamaica throughout the film, with original soundtracks by Beres Hammond, Jah Cure and Chronixx et al, produced by Clive Hunter.
There was even a clip of our beloved Air Jamaica at one point, which sent the theatre into frenetic ooh and aahs, as we reflected on the former national carrier.
Destiny is my Christmas gift to you. I recommend it for its exciting cast, beautiful sound tracks and sceneries, with realistic representations of different strata of Jamaican life. It rests the traditional gunmanship that Jamaican films are usually known for and fuses comedy, romance and drama in a thrilling symphony of movie success, indeed Palace Amusement Cinemas have reported that the film came in at No. 1 at box offices Island wide in its first two weeks of showing, beating International films such as Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington; Fury, starring Brad Pitt and The Judge, starring Robert Downey Jr.