Producer says get ready for Jafaican laughter

LONDON:

Fredi Nwaka, the UK-based writer, director and producer, is excited about his new film Jafaican which is set to hit UK cinemas on May 20.

The title, which has a spin on ‘Jamaican’, is mainly because the storyline is about a small-time London crook, Gary Buckle (played by Peter Andre), who jets off to Jamaica to pull off a high-stakes heist and gain some money to take care of his nan (grandmother).

The film’s description says, “Buckle’s plan unravels into islandwide chaos. He has got 21 days to become Jamaican … or die trying.”

When Fredi Nwaka sat down with The Weekly Gleaner last week to talk about the film, he said film-goers can get ready to enjoy a real comedy drama with a bit of “love for family” thrown in.

He said: “Gary Buckle is a petty thief and conman living in London trying to raise money to pay for his nan’s care-home fees. He gets a letter from the home saying that he has a bill of £35,000 to pay for her care.

“It’s while he is at the care home contemplating where he is going to find that amount of money (that) he overheard a Jamaican couple saying that their son, who is locked up in prison on the island, has inherited a large sum of money.

“The couple’s grandson shows Gary a picture of his gangster father and he looks just like Gary. With the father in prison, Gary could simply go over there, pretend he is the father before he comes out of prison, grab the inheritance money and return.

“The only problem is, he has to learn to speak Jamaican ... fast. He has 21 days to learn how to become a Jamaican, pull off a big heist, and con a Jamaican gangster out of his money so that he can pay off the bill to his nan’s care home.”

Making a heist film is a natural for Fredi Nwaka, as he has made many of these before, both comedies and thrillers. He thought it would be interesting to make one about Jamaica, mainly because he is the biggest ‘Jafaican’ himself.

He said: “In the 1980s, I used to deejay as ‘Fredi Kruga’ on all the sound systems in London, and it was a time when everybody wanted to get into the Jamaican culture, the click suits, the Ballys (shoes), the Clarks, the hats etc. I worked on Coxsone’s and Saxson Sounds and I was the biggest Jafaican then. I would eat African food at home and come out and talk with a Jamaican accent on the street.

“Because I was called a Jafaican back in the day and, being an African, I thought it would be funny to tell a story and use Jamaica as a backdrop, hence the title Jafaican.”

JAMAICAN CAST

Nwaka has been visiting Jamaica every year for the last 10 years because of his other business called Creating Memories. He has been taking 50 to 60 persons to Jamaica to experience the island and visit leisure hotspots like Dunn’s River Falls, Ricks Café and Blue Hole Lagoon, while putting money back into the Jamaican economy. It’s a tour business which takes people to other parts of the world, but Jamaica is top of the list.

On putting the cast together for the film, Nwaka said, although he had worked with singer-turned-actor Peter Andre on other films, he still had to audition for the lead role in Jafaican, and he came up tops out of 18 potential actors.

He said: “Peter and I worked together on another film called ‘ On the Other Foot’, so I knew the skills he possessed, but I told him he had to audition for the role. And he literally smashed it. I didn’t realise he could act like that.

“Wil Johnson is very talented and well known for his work in the TV dramas Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. I knew he would fit the part perfectly in the role as he accompanies Gary to Jamaica.”

On the Jamaican cast, which included top comedian Oliver Samuels and reggae singer Sizzla, Nwaka said it was easy to get both on board.

He said: “You can’t make a comedy about Jamaica and not include Oliver Samuels. That would not make any sense. Oliver saw the script and loved it and immediately signed up. With Sizzla, we were invited into Judgement Yard in August Town for filming and, let me tell you, if Sizzla felt there was any disrespect to Jamaican culture with the film, he would not have sanctioned that.

“These are two iconic Jamaican figures who have co-signed the film, and even some of the stuff Sizzla did was improvised which really showed his skills. It was a great experience working with both of them.”

WORLD PREMIER

Nwaka, who now has 11 films under his belt, including ‘ Jingle Hellz’, ‘Forgive Me Father’, The Underground’ and ‘ Are We Dead Yet’, had high praise for the Jamaican crew and set.

He said: “Jamaica is so full of life and talented people but they don’t get the shine like everyone else. We used local settings rather than build sets, so that everyone benefited, even down to the caterers. We also had an unscripted scene in St Elizabeth with ‘Simple Touch’ sound system when they created an opportunity to film in an outdoor dance.”

The world premier for the film will be at the Gold Coast Film Festival in Australia later this week, before the UK premier on May 20 at the Odeon Cinema in London, after which it will go on general release. There is also a premier planned for Jamaica in August.