Local filmmakers Badir Awe and Trevor Murphy are grateful to accept the first donation from the Wes Emanuel PixelPoet Fund which was recently established to honour the memory of long-time Cayman resident Wesley Emanuel. The donation will assist Awe and Murphy with the production costs of their 20-minute short film The Devil You Know.

“The best thing about working on ‘The Devil You Know’ has been the island-wide collaborative experience. The interest we have received has been incredible. So many people from all walks of life on the island are coming together to help us produce a project that can properly be called a ‘Cayman film,’ said Awe who is co-directing the project with Murphy.

Rich Emanuel explains that, “Wes had a strong desire to see talented filmmakers in Cayman recognized and supported in their creative endeavours, so we wanted to honour that dream.”

Wes Emanuel was a resident of the Cayman Islands who worked many years with Government Information Services as a Manager in the Electronic Media department. A talented and dedicated editor and videographer, Wes guided many of Cayman’s young filmmakers. Wes lost his battle with Cancer last year and is sadly missed in the industry.

Colleen Mellott of the local film professionals group Friends of Film, presented the donation on behalf of the Emanuel family and commented, “We are pleased to see private support of a local, home-grown production. We hope for more financial assistance with this film, as no contribution is too small. Cayman is filled with creative, young filmmakers seeking encouragement, mentorship and support in this industry.”

“With only a fraction of the CI $15K budget raised so far, we are all really working on a labour of love at the moment,” says co-director, Trevor Murphy, “we know we have a great story and a great team, all we need are a few more people to come together with some additional funds to help with rental equipment as well as provide meals and compensation for our cast and crew.”

Awe adds, “This is a professional production with a modest but professional budget. We hope we can get a few more sponsors on board to really see this film made to its full potential.”

The Devil You Know tells the story of a hitman who comes to Cayman for a job but things don’t go exactly as planned. Shooting is scheduled for November.

Organizations or individuals interested in finding out more about sponsorship opportunities for The Devil You Know can email [email protected] or contact Judy Singh on 926-6502 for more information. Sponsorships may include Executive Producer credit and special on-set privilege.