By Aabigayle McIntosh

HaMafilms Antigua will begin its run of local community screenings of its fifth and latest film ‘Deep Blue’, starting with a screening at Indies Greens in Seaview Farm on Friday, 25th, October at 7pm. followed by talk-back sessions.

HaMafilms’ community screenings aim to reach people where they are.

Starting in October 2024 and extending into 2025, each of their community screenings will offer a unique viewing experience that embraces the features of each selected venue. 

The screening at Indies Greens will kick off the series of community screenings that will each feature a talk-back session with the filmmakers and local actors at the end of each screening.

This series of screenings comes on the heels of the ‘Deep Blue’ screening and the University of Toronto and other educational institutions in Canada.

Of the film, Elizabeth Abbott of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, explains that ‘Deep Blue’ creators Mitzi and Howard Allen “choose drama over documentary to attract a much wider audience. Their message is the existential dangers of land development on a small island surrounded by dying coral reefs”.

As a result, they have created a “richly layered and compelling narrative to anchor the film” as Abbott notes in her article in the International Journal of Environmental Studies. 

Indies Greens offers an appropriate venue to begin the community screenings. Situated in lush gardens with hydroponic farming, fish ponds and tanks, tropical birds and even a coral reef lab, the mission of sustainability of Indies Greens marries well with the environmental message of the ‘Deep Blue’ film. 

Any organizations interested in having the film screened for their audiences can reach out to Mitzi and Howard Allen of HaMafilms Antigua.