CayFilm is a few weeks away, and local filmmakers will be showcasing their work on the big screens along with films from 50 other countries. Twenty films, created and produced in the Cayman Islands, have been selected to show during the Festival which takes place from 30 June to 3 July at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.  For more information, see below:

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – CayFilm, Cayman’s premier film festival, is a few weeks away, and local filmmakers will be showcasing their work on the big screens along with films from 50 other countries. Twenty films, created and produced in the Cayman Islands, have been selected to show during the Festival which takes place from 30 June to 3 July at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

“We are honoured to be able to screen these homemade films at our Festival, and we thank the filmmakers for entrusting us with their creations,” said Festival Director Tony Mark. “I hope that the Cayman public will come out and support our local talent, and that CayFilm will provide new opportunities for the filmmakers.”

Six of the films will be vying for the Frank E. Flowers Local Filmmaker Award which was introduced last year and presented by Frank E.

Trevor Murphy has two films in the festival this year, “Hotel” and “Reunion”, both nominated for awards. The latter is a completely improvised short film. It was shot with the actors each having a secret that they have not shared with one another but each secret is revealed over the course of the weekend as the film is being shot.

Malcolm Ellis, director of last year’s crowd favourite “Tripping Through”, is returning to CayFilm this year with a psychological thriller short film entitled “Sacrifice” (nominee). The film explores the story of an abused wife who is struggling to remember an incident involving her husband and the psychiatrist trying to help her.

The winner of the 2016 Young Image Maker’s award, Grace Ruby, has come back to the Festival with her inspiring documentary short “Nikki’s Voice” (nominee). The film follows Nikki Christian and Grace’s father Scott Ruby – the first duo team in the Cayman Islands – on their journey through a gruelling race in Cayman.

Young Caymanian filmmaker Heath Harris’s thrilling film “Paper Palaces” (nominee) will also be screening. Paper Palaces is a film about a teenage boy named Charlie (played by Emmy winning actor Austin Trace), during the onset of schizophrenia. Tormented and unable to tell reality from fiction, Charlie begins to believe his mother is out to get him. Taking matters into his own hands, he finds a gun in the spare bedroom.

Harris was born and raised in Cayman, and began her entertainment career working on Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games while earning her undergraduate degree at NYU. Since then Heath has worked with various global youth entertainment labels. She currently studies directing at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and is an active member of BAFTA’s Newcomers Program.

Pascal Pernix’s film “Unwritten” (nominee) will also be shown. The film follows a best-selling author who discovers that his unknown daughter has begun a journey to meet him for the first time. “Unwritten” has been doing well on the festival circuit. It is a film close to Pernix’s heart.

“As a dad of two young daughters, I truly am passionate about the complexity of the daughter/father relationships, and I found myself writing quite a bit about it until “Unwritten” came to life”.

Pernix says the complex shooting nature of the film driven by the plot was a motivating factor in making this specific film.

“I wanted to challenge myself in creating a moving movie (and Lea’s road trip) that could take place anywhere, enhancing the universality of the main subjects of the film: fatherhood and search of identity.”

“A Plastic Ocean” is an adventure documentary shot on more than 20 locations over the past four years. Explorers Craig Leeson and Tanya Streeter and a team of international scientists reveal the causes and consequences of plastic pollution and share solutions. Tanya Streeter is a British-Caymanian-American world champion free diver who was inducted into the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame in March 2000.

Other local films screening at CayFilm Festival this year include “Flawless Victory” “Metamorphosis – The Great Transformation” and “Outside the Lines”.

The CayFilm Cayman International Film Festival takes place from 30 June to 3 July, and includes daily film screenings, question and answer sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, workshops, an exclusive premiere screening, a celebrity gala event and an awards ceremony. Both Early Bird VIP and General Admission tickets are on sale and available at Cathy Church’s Photo Centre and online at cayfilm.com.

CayFilm 2017 is sponsored by Audi Cayman, Ministry of Tourism, Department of Tourism and is made possible with a grant from the Cayman National Cultural Foundation.

About CayFilm Cayman International Film Festival

CayFilm Cayman International Film Festival is an annual multi-day spectacular event designed to create new interest and excitement about the Cayman Islands as a world-class filming destination. Included in the festival will be daily film screenings, question and answer sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, workshops, exclusive premiere screenings, and two celebrity gala events. It is our vision to open up the Cayman Islands to the film industry around the world whilst opening up the world to Cayman’s young and aspiring filmmakers.

The Festival team is also working to develop the Cayman Media Academy (CMA) under the CayFilm umbrella to educate Cayman’s youth by offering classes and qualifications relating to different career fields within the industry. This will be run throughout the year with the eventual goal of having a full-time degree programme available at our own purpose built facility. Young children will have their own specially designed programmes to inspire and give confidence about their own unique abilities as filmmakers.