The Tribune

Nicole ‘Col J’ Burrows has reached a milestone in her life - on the cusp of turning 40 she has written and produced her first film. This is her (short) story about the experience.

It’s as much a science as it is an art.

The stars have to align. You have to be in the right place at the right time. You have to meet the right person in that place. And you have to be prepared. And committed ... committed to the effort in spite of the uncertain amount of time it will actually take to get your end product. And you have to be convinced that no matter what you come up against you’ll be able to pass through it, hopefully, if you’re really lucky, ending up on the other side of your opportunity with more refined skills than you had when you started.

That’s how it was for me, anyway.

I started writing a column for The Tribune in September 2014, because I needed to vent my frustrations in a constructive way about the declining condition of my country, and I was hoping to earn something for the bit of talent I had in writing. I also needed to reach an online audience with my writing, because the young people comprise the bulk of that audience, and improving my country is heavily dependent on them knowing the problems and the changes that are necessary.

My first column in The Tribune was intended to reach as many people as possible: women, men, younger, older, unmarried, married, with a topic they could all identify with and one controversial enough to attract a decent number of readers.

It did.

The first column about the cheating Bahamian husband was meant to tell a story almost anyone could write if they knew how, because they lived it or because they knew someone who did. It was meant to draw attention to the ‘greyness’ of ‘cheating’ ... its relativity per person, and its lack of definition ... its lack of black and white, clear cut application.

As I’d hoped, there were many varied responses. But what I didn’t bargain on, at least not so soon, was that there would be someone who would immediately take an interest enough to seek out a partnership with me. It was a partnership for a journey to realise a longstanding desire in an industry with which I’d been in love since I was a girl and my mum would take me to the movies with great regularity.

I was finally about to embark upon an active role in a film production, not as an extra, not as a stand-in, as I’d been before and for which I was grateful because it opened my eyes more to the possibilities, but in a principal role as producer and co-director.

My new partner would be a trained cinematographer, a young, professional man trained specifically in filmmaking as I’d once hoped to be, and a man passionate about his craft. He - N L Aubrey Smith (aka Neville) - invited me to write a script for a short film that we could make together. He had read my column, and we agreed almost immediately that, if we were going to do this, it would make sense to use material that was already ready to be adapted into a screenplay.

So, the script for ‘almost40’ was born.

It had to incorporate several other things to make it more interesting and more applicable, capturing as large an audience as possible. And, as I was 40 weeks away from my 40th birthday, I decided it might be a good idea to write about ‘cheating’ from an almost 40-year-old’s perspective.

I also happened to still be single and unmarried, and without children, and I know these are things many almost 40 people struggle with, be they women or men. The challenges society presents to them, the pressures to be married and have children, not to mention the pressure to be ‘faithful’ in a world that prefers variety, are intense.

As a woman of this land, I know these pressures to be even greater, because our culture is obsessed with marriage and babies.

And so, you see, it kind of fell into place that the story we would tell would be about a woman, almost 40, who is confronted with the difficult decisions about a partner and parenting, as she reaches a milestone in her life, and how all the people around her end up factoring into that equation.

With pointers from my new partner, I researched and wrote a treatment for a short film. Neville liked the treatment (we agreed on a five-to-seven minute film, great because I have a short attention span before boredom kicks in) and I wrote the screenplay.

We were (still are) on a shoestring budget - no, a sewing thread budget - so the film was to be as compact as possible, utilising the least amount of resources we could all around.

Because funding for filmmaking/the performing arts and motion pictures is not readily available (understatement) by the Bahamas government, and because filmmaking in the Bahamas pre-supposes the filmmakers are of foreign origin thereby facilitating their needs as primary, Bahamian filmmakers usually end up relying on the kindness of strangers, either within or outside of the borders of the country, to get their films made. But, in order to get to the point where these generous souls who respect our struggle would be willing to offer their assistance, we would have to prove ourselves and what we could do together.

We had to select the best lineup of actors (24 in total, self included), to make the best short film we could.

Having worked in media and having colleagues in the media business, both past and present, I, naturally, leaned in their direction to make this film. I could not do what I wanted to do the way I wanted to do it without their participation. Luckily for us, there were people I didn’t know who were willing to be a part of ‘almost40’, even though they were told up front that they couldn’t be paid for their roles.

The actors we found are people who have a passion for their craft/related crafts and/or a passion for motion pictures. And that makes a world of difference in the quality of the film we made. Many, even without formal training, or the support of their families, colleagues, or their country, still stick to what they love.

Because of our limited budget, and the need to get done as much as we could in a very short time, we (partner and me) wore many hats. Although we don’t list it in the official credits of the film, because it is not best practice, we scouted locations, we secured props, we cleaned windows, we cast all the actors, because we would have no film otherwise. I’m proud to say that we could. It didn’t always work smoothly, but we were determined to make good on ‘almost40’.

We opened casting on Christmas Day, pre-screening and mentally assigning actors to their roles in the film, so that by the time we met them in person, not only did we have the actors who really wanted to be there, but we already knew who we wanted to play each part, without having to screen applicants in a traditional open call. That was a crucial time-saving, quality control element for our film. (Also, to save time and money, I play the lead role in the film, a task that is far more difficult than it looks when you’re also responsible for the daily operations of a film’s production.)

A few cast members were people I already envisioned playing certain roles, and I pursued them to gain their interest in the film. Fortunately, they all wanted to be a part of the project.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I can be a handful, somewhat demanding, maybe even controlling in the eyes of some, but it’s never because I really want to be in control. I’m not a power-monger, nor am I concerned with titles and positions. I’m pretty low key in all aspects of my life. But, I want whatever I do to be done well, in as much as I am able to control the end result. And that is the attitude I carried into ‘almost40’. I do my best at what I do and I try to make others do the best at what they do. And I think we all did our best - cast and crew - on ‘almost40’.

By the end of January, we had our full cast and our only rehearsal (casting was also a rehearsal). We began filming on February 4, with the willingness and gracious assistance of The Tribune, Luciano’s of Chicago, TDG Architects Ltd, Olive’s Meze Grill, and COCOA Coffee House. These folks opened their physical spaces to us, and allowed us to use their respective properties as backdrops in our film, all without requiring that we pay them to do it. All we could offer with no money or budget was the quality of our work, the vision for our product, and closing credit at the end of the film. And that was good enough for them. We are thankful to them, and we are pleased with the end results of their placement. It was/is a glimmer of hope that there are some people still willing to help young Bahamian filmmakers (can I still say that at 40?) achieve their dreams of being an integral part of a Bahamian film industry.

Within three weeks, after organising and reorganising 29 schedules of people who had other jobs and obligations, we had all the footage (plus more!) that we needed for the film. We shot for seven days, over the three-week period, an accomplishment I’m most proud of considering it was our first project together and it had many constraints.

With the editing is done, the movie poster released, and the behind-the-scenes video online, we premiered our nine-minute short film on Friday night, via the world wide web, to reach as many viewers as we could around the world.

Once released online, we look to release ‘almost40’ on the big screen by the end of this month. And unlike before, when our aim was simply to be noticed with ‘almost40’ as our calling card, we now aim to actively build the Bahamas’ film industry, by giving our crew and cast a share in the online profits of our film, which will be available for rent online; audiences will get to go to the movies on their computers and mobile devices, for a third of the cost of a traditional movie experience. And, most importantly, they’ll be able to say that they helped 29 Bahamian filmmakers and actors further their film careers and interests. I hope every viewer is inspired in some way by ‘almost40’ ... and that they will inspire others.

I just turned 40. The film is complete. Ten months later, with no biological children, I just gave birth to my first baby. We take incredible risks for the dreams we believe in. And our dreams comes true, when the stars are aligned.

• Nicole ‘Col J’ Burrows writes the Politicole column in The Tribune on Tuesdays

To rent the full short film ($2.99 for one week of streaming) visit https://vimeo.com/ondemand/almost40 and visit almost40 on Facebook