The Lab Studios kicks off the holiday season with ‘Christmas in the Tropics’

It has been quite a year for The Lab Studios. When the production company hosted the SLATE | Jamaica on Screen event in May of this year, the company promised to produce several projects. The latest offering is the Hallmark-style Christmas film, Christmas in the Tropics, set and filmed in Jamaica.

The film centres on Abigail Campbell, played by Kimberly Patterson, who is on a trip home to Jamaica for the holidays following a sudden break-up. Once there, she finds herself in the midst of a struggle to keep her family’s spice business out of debt and free from the clutches of an ambitious yet charming and handsome investor.

Patterson told The Sunday Gleaner that she was at home when she received a call from Kimala Bennett, executive producer and chief executive officer of The Lab Studios, about the project. Her response was immediate: “Listen, in a heartbeat”. She added, “I’m gonna say yes, yes, yes because this is, basically, a dream come true of mine.”

Patterson’s character is a social media influencer whose followers, called Sugarplums in the film, get a glimpse of Jamaica at Christmas through her content. It is a role that spoke to Patterson, who found that she was able to draw on her own lived experience. “In this day and age, there’s Instagram. Everybody is, like, a kind of influencer in their own little ways, especially as I’m a business owner as well ... So I drew on my life and what I do on a regular basis, being able to show up and just being able to be passionate about my dreams and being able to speak to a wider audience through the internet, through the phone, and that is life nowadays.”

Patterson approaches acting with enthusiasm, drawing on her background in psychology to understand her characters. “Fun fact about me. I studied psychology, so understanding human behaviour. So whenever I’m preparing for a script, you know, reading through it, I’m breaking down and analysing: What is this character going through? What’s the mindset behind them? And I try not to be judgmental and [be] able to step into the shoes of the character.”

While she continues to pursue acting, Patterson, an established and respected make-up entrepreneur, does not blend her skill sets. “I don’t tend to do my own make-up for my characters because, as I said, I like to be in the moment of the character. I want to be them fully and to be able to show up,” she said.

Christmas in the Tropics was shot in Jamaica and features a mix of Jamaican and American actors. Among the Jamaican cast members are veteran actress Bertina Macaulay and Walric Peddie, playing Eleanor and Robert Campbell, parents to Patterson’s Abigail Campbell. The role of Robert marks Peddie’s second collaboration with The Lab Studios, following his performance as a reporter in the rugby romance film Love Offside.

Reflecting on working with her Jamaican co-stars, Patterson said: “I’m usually watching behind the scenes, taking inspiration here and there. So watching them in their full capacity as actors, I was fully embracing the moment and just learning what I can from them and just being able to dive in and stay true to my character because they brought that energy as well.”

Patterson’s principal co-star was American actor Nick Creegan, who plays Tyler Washington, a love interest and pseudo-antagonist. In the film, the two leads balance their opposing business perspectives against a fast-growing affection for one another. Patterson recalled working with the actor. “We were besties from day one. I remember we were travelling through traffic on the way to set, in the car just laughing and joking and just breaking the ice. It was so easy, so smooth. And then he showed up in a professional capacity, so we were able to just kill the scene. It was beautiful.”

The easygoing feeling was mutual, with Creegan detailing his time with his co-star with positive feedback. “Working with her was just incredible. She showed up every day very prepared. She was really fun to work with, and we had an amazing time,” said Creegan.

Creegan is no stranger to the screen. His previous credits include high-profile television series such as Batwoman, where he was the first black actor to play The Joker, and Law & Order: Organised Crime. “Anytime an actor gets cast in any type of production, it’s a blessing. Whether it’s an independent film that is shot in New York with a group of friends or a major TV production, or it’s a feature film shot on location in Jamaica. Each of those is its own individual milestone,” he shared.

Though he lives and works primarily in the United States, Creegan traces his Jamaican heritage to his mother. As an actor with Jamaican heritage, he expressed pride at his first lead role in a feature film being one that he shot on the island. “It’s my first leading role in a feature film, and also my first time being a producer on a feature film, and it was also my first time ever shooting a project in my mother’s home country of Jamaica, which obviously holds a special place in my heart.”

When asked how working in Jamaica compares with his previous work, he had this to say: “Being able to get paid to work in Jamaica, and eat the food that I love on set... I was getting pumpkin soup at night or bun and cheese and things like that. It was really awesome to be able to have that Jamaican experience on set ... I just felt really grateful. I was able to easily relate to people on set, not surprising to myself, but maybe surprising to them.”

Creegan credited his upbringing with helping him connect with the film’s cast and crew. “Growing up in America, you might not think that I grew up under Jamaican customs, but my family made sure to have me grow up less like a first-generation American and more of an extension of the Jamaican cloth... It was really cool to just be able to directly relate to everybody on set that I had never been able to do on a set in America.”

Creegan’s time spent filming in Jamaica has left a lasting impression, and one that he hopes to extend to producers abroad. In his role as one of the film’s producers, he expressed a keen interest in creating more work in Jamaica for filmmakers. “In terms of the producer credit, it was more so a tool to be able to do a lot more of these types of productions ... I wanted to be able to go to production companies and producers and say, ‘This is a film that I helped produce, and I want to do more of these types of things in Jamaica, and bring more of the American film population to the idea of producing in Jamaica.’”

As to Jamaica’s recent activity in the film sector, Creegan acknowledged the Government’s commitment to providing direct financial support to film practitioners through initiatives such as the Jamaica Screen Development Initiative, under which Christmas in the Tropics received funding. “I know that the prime minister right now is making a major push for more projects to be filmed on [the] island and I want to be a part of that push,” said Creegan.

While the cast has a great desire to see the film become part of Jamaican Christmas traditions for many, they spoke about some of the traditions they themselves practise with their families. “When my mother and I and my sister are at a table together baking, like, maybe 10, 15 Christmas cakes to give away to family or friends ... going to Christmas dinners and then having family from all over come and just spending time together. It’s so beautiful. And then also there’s the Christmas breeze. You can’t forget about that,” said Patterson.

Creegan also shared some of his family’s Christmas traditions. “You always got sorrel. You always got rum cake... We would usually rely on my grandmother to bake at least 10 cakes, and we would mail them out, or people would pick them up.”

Though the film has yet to be released, word has spread. The film’s trailer has garnered more than 18,000 YouTube views, and with the Christmas season fast approaching, The Lab Studios is anticipating strong cinema attendance.

When asked about the film’s potential to become a Christmas tradition for Jamaicans, Patterson said: “I don’t think it’s ‘potentially’; I think it’s already started. This is just the beginning. It’s always been a dream of mine to have something like this. I love Hallmark movies, so to be able to have this as a household name, Christmas in the Tropics every season... I want when Christmas comes around, people are like, ‘Oh, I’m going to put on that movie and just watch it and get some good laughs, feel good about my country and just embrace what this is.’ That’s what I look forward to.”

The film is set to premiere this month. “The premiere is November 25th. You could definitely get your tickets at caribtix.com, but also the opening is December. ... Come out with your family. Come out with your friends, like, watch it like two or three times, maybe a million... definitely show up and show out. And that will be at Palace Amusement for sure,” Patterson said. Christmas in the Tropics will be released on December 2 at Palace Amusement cinemas.

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies. Email feedback to entertainment@gleanerjm.com.