Mason Richards readies to make The Seawall feature length film

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) hugs an atomic bomb survivor Shigeaki Mori as he visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Award winning US-based Guyanese filmmaker, writer and director Mason Richards was in Guyana only recently scouting locations for when he returns later in this year when the production of his full-length film is slated to begin. The film, The Seawall is sort of his story and one which many Guyanese abroad can relate to. It depicts the life of a little boy taken from Guyana to live abroad; the seawall he saw as the only barrier between Guyana and the rest of the world. Already done as a short film, The Seawall took Mason places such as the Cannes Film Festival in France and Havana, Cuba where it was well received.

 Mason Richards
Mason Richards

The journey for Mason was a difficult one but perseverance led him to not only being the first Guyanese but also the first person to direct the first ever all black theatre production in the history of the Vanderbilt University that he once attended. Later, The Seawall was recognized by Sony Pictures, and Mason won a huge award, another first for a Guyanese.

However, his love for film began many years ago when on blackout nights he listened to folklore tales or was taken for a drive-in at the Starlight Cinema here in Guyana to watch the