Caribbean Entertainment Magazine: Just Another Friday

Thursday, April 4, 2013

There was standing room only at Redbones in New Kingston at the recent premiere of Jamaica's first Gospel movie, Just Another Friday. The red carpet event drew a large audience from all walks of life, all dressed for the occasion, to witness the ground breaking movie which features Acts 12, the drama ministry of the Jamaica Youth for Christ and a number of gospel artistes.

Just Another Friday was produced and directed by veteran television producer Michael "Barri" Brown of BarriVision Productions and wife Judith Falloon-Reid Brown, author and screenplay writer, in association with the Jamaica Youth for Christ.

In his comments to the gathering, Michael responded to an inquiry about the challenges faced during the making of the movie with a popular quote "God does not call the equipped; he equips the called. My wife and I are grateful to have been among the called." He spoke briefly about the many difficulties of working with very little funding, scheduling actors who had full time jobs and ministry commitments and working with the ever changing weather conditions.

Judith added that the challenges were overshadowed by the many blessings they received from supporters. "The inspiration to complete the project," she said, came from our belief that the impact of the movie will be great, especially given the overwhelming response we received to the play version which was aired on TV. We want to be change makers, elevating the consciousness and offering a wholesome film experience which is in keeping with BarriVision's mission to provide family programming and Jamaica Youth for Christ's mission of reaching the youth."

Just Another Friday was filmed in Ocho Rios at the home of Reid-Brown's sister, and in Kingston at the Franklyn Town Church Of God.

The Jamaica Youth for Christ will be the main beneficiary of the movie with 60% of all proceeds, in perpetuity, being donated towards the work of the ministry.

www.justanotherfriday.com

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Monday, February 25, 2013

When Jamaica's first full length gospel movie, Just Another Friday premieres in March, gospel music lovers will see Gospel artistes Deneese Wright, Lubert Levy, NexChange and Blu Isteppa take on the stage from a different perspective. Also adding their talents to the production are well-known poetess Denise "Defy" Fyffe and internationally acclaimed artiste, A.J. Brown. In addition to these artistes, the soundtrack also features music from Ancient Priest, JCDC Gospel Competition Best Performer 2011, and songbird Tamara Calder.

The film, produced by BarriVision Productions and Jamaica Youth for Christ's drama ministry, Acts 12 holds the distinction of being Jamaica's first Gospel movie. The majority of the film was recorded in Ocho Rios and its environs with the church scenes being done at the Franklin Town Church of God in Kingston.

Just AnotherFriday premieres in Kingston on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at Red Bones Blues Café and in Montego Bay on Friday, March 22 at the Fairfield Theatre. General screenings will follow at various venues island wide over that same weekend. The movie then heads for South Florida with screenings on the weekend of April 19, 2013.

Deneese Wright, a major supporting actress and on the cusp of releasing her first album, plays the role of Celia Thompson, the level-headed, Christian sister visiting with her family from Boston. In her role she brings compassion and a touch of reality to her sister whose broken family and years of neglect has finally taken its toll.

No stranger to stage, but new to the silver screen, A.J. Brown adds his voice to the piano sounds of Amazing Grace, driving home a potent message that brings the entire story together. Poetess Denise "Defy" Fyffe exchanges her usual fabulous look for a far more conservative role as a pious churchgoer delivering a poem and Lubert Levy character, a man of very few words but plays a powerful role in the background as "Glock" the gangster. NexChange and Blu Isteppa, both up and coming artistes who have been steadily gaining fans among young Christians with their unique reggae and dancehall gospel styles, play minor roles as the ever present friends of the two lead males, Leon and John.

South Florida will get their opportunity to view Just Another Friday on the weekend of April 19, 2013 when it will be screened at a number of venues in the tri-county area. Screenings are also being planned for other areas where the Jamaican Diaspora and other Caribbean groups are prominent. To make it more globally appealing, the film will be subtitled in places where Jamaican patois is used.

"Just Another Friday is a story about family, conflict, tragedy and redemption," says author and playwright, Judith Falloon-Reid, who is co-producing and co-directing the film with husband and veteran television producer Michael Brown. "Although set at Easter, it is not an Easter movie. The themes are current and will take movie goers through the conflicts between a husband and wife, their Christian teenager, her worldly brother and their visiting relatives."

Co-director, Andrew Jones, of Acts 12, points out that the movie will serve many purposes, among them, being an evangelism tool for churches and ministries to reach out to the youth. "Although the target market is young people, teens and young adults, there are several themes embedded that target different people. The disillusioned mother. The careless father" he said.

Just Another Friday is based on a play of the same name, that was presented in Kingston two years ago and then recorded for television. "At the end of the movie we placed a telephone number for persons to call if they needed prayer or just to talk," he said. "The response from those whose lives were impacted was so strong that we decided to make it into a movie so that it could impact more lives worldwide."

Funding has been their major challenge but the commitment of the cast, the husband-and-wife team and a host of collaborators, has made the movie a reality.