83 Million Gees, a stage play adapted into a film, will premiere on the big screen at the National Cultural Centre on November 23 and 24.
The highly-acclaimed play won the National Drama Festival last year and was adapted into a film by Guyanese filmmaker Mahadeo Shivraj. The screenplay was written by playwright Ronald Hollingsworth.
It tells the story of a multi-racial group of people who steal $83 million from the central bank. However, their plan is thwarted when division starts to spark as they are sharing the spoils. The conflict is fuelled by certain members of the gang who believe they deserve more, since their skin is a shade lighter.
In an interview, Shivraj said the conflict heightens with the racial stigma. “In a deeper sense they are locked in a grave battle over political and economic power but most of all racial dominance,” he said, noting the stark realism that Guyana is divided by the “colour of skin”.
He said the characters are deceived by their own racial prejudice. The film, he said, is fast-paced and full of laughs. But underneath it challenges society to look deeper in what really motivates their actions on a daily basis. “In Guyana, we can say people vote race…when I read his play [Hollingsworth] I thought that every Guyanese should hear this story because we are being separated by politics and our colour. “But they are going to get every laugh out of it,” he said.
83 Million Gees is Shivraj’s fourth film produced for a Guyanese audience. The others were Till I Find a Place, A Jasmine for a Gardener and Brown Sugar too Bitter for me.
The original stage play won best production and best sound effects last year at the drama festival. The film premieres at 20:00 hrs.
