London, UK – Iland Boy Films and Nexus Networks present Soucouyant – a short film shot entirely in St Lucia as part of a week-long signature film challenge to cast and crew.
The film stars St Lucia’s homegrown talent Aiasha Gustave (Miss World St Lucia 2010) and Kimhia Toussaint (Miss St Lucia UK 2014) along with legendary musician Bert “Panta” Brown. The film was written and directed by Award Winning Barbadian filmmaker Sean Michael Field and co-produced by Trinidadian TV personality Jeanille Bonterre. The one week challenge was to create a short film from concept to completion while training St. Lucians who were interested in participating.
According to Caribbean folklore, the legend of the Soucouyant is as a shape-shifting character who appears as a reclusive old woman. She sucks the blood of her victims evoking the blood-sucking nature of the European vampire combined with African voodoo possession stories. The film places a modern day spin on the character and centers around the scenic fishing town of Gros Islet on the Caribbean island of St Lucia. The town’s people are shaken by the mysterious circumstances surrounding a recent string of mysterious murders in their small, close-knit community.
Soucouyant has been accepted into Film Caribbean UK’s 2015 Summer Season Festival. Film Caribbean UK aims to celebrate Caribbean productions and bring diversity into UK film. Previous festivals have showcased films from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Dominica, Guyana, St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic.The St Lucian feature Soucouyant will be airing on Saturday, July 11 at 7:30pm at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in London. Miss St Lucia UK and Soucouyant actress Toussaint will be in attendance at this world premiere screening.
View the film trailer:
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