WESTERN BUREAU:
Gleaner photographer Ashley Anguin made her directorial debut on Sunday with the premiere of her first short film, Link Up, at The University of the West Indies’ Western Jamaica Campus.
The film follows Alex, played by Brian Campbell, as he seeks to confess his romantic feelings to long-time best friend Tiffany, played by Dior Russell. With support from his best friend Andrew, played by Kevin Ricketts, Alex invites Tiffany to attend the titular Link Up party to confess his love to her, not knowing that the party is where Tiffany hopes to reunite with her boyfriend Rico, a role played by Dimitri Bell.
It was shot over four months by Anguin’s AshAng Media and the Barefoot Studios group, and included a mix of young professionals and students.
“There are not a lot of words that I can say to express my feelings, but I am just happy to know that the students and young people who were a part of the team, they got the exposure that they needed,” Anguin told The Gleaner.
She praised the first-time actors and the film’s editor, Leighton Pratt, with whom she collaborated.
“Also for myself, as someone who for years has wanted to be involved in some kind of filming but did not have the confidence to do it, just to know that I am here today, I feel so good,” Anguin added, while noting that the film was shot with little to no money.
Campbell, the star of the short film, said he had been bitten by the acting bug. He is considering taking on acting as a full-time career, despite this being his first foray into film. “It was actually a very unreal experience, but it was fun, and being able to watch myself on the screen was a very beautiful thing. I would like to take it a step further, and perhaps take it up as a full-time career, and it is something that I really think I would look forward to,” said Campbell.
In his remarks, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett commended Anguin and her team for their innovative spirit that gave birth to Link Up, the same kind of spirit that he described as a driving factor in tourism.
“I have something to say about somebody like Ashley, and I have something to say about this young cast and about innovation and ideas. Ideas are what drive the business I am in, and tourism is about experiences, about bringing people from all over the world to consume the creative output of our people, and that creative output is a product of ideas,” said Bartlett.
Meanwhile, Montego Bay’s Deputy Mayor Richard Vernon declared that the development of quality films could do much to promote Montego Bay as a tourism destination.
“The world is in love with Jamaica, and just imagine what producing quality pictures here in Montego Bay could do. If we had more local films reflecting the importance of our culture and heritage, we would behave differently,” said Vernon.
As for what’s next following her directorial debut, Anguin said she has more ideas she would like to see produced.
“Moving forward, there are other stories that I have started on, and I really hope to execute them. I really want to continue doing this kind of thing, because from I was very young, I wanted to do this,” Anguin, who on Sunday, along with Christoper Serju, won the Carl Wint Award for Best Feature at the 2021 Press Association of Jamaica Awards, told The Gleaner.
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