Photo by Gordon Williams
Filmmaker Mykal Fax

Gordon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Mykal Fax, a Jamaican-born actor and writer based in the United States, is scheduled to release his first movie as a solo filmmaker next month in New York.

Fax, who, along with fellow Jamaican filmmaker Steve 'Tehut-Nine' McAlpin, launched Foreign in 2005 and Bashment: A Fork In The Road last year, both movies about the street life of Jamaicans living in the US, is set to premiere Roaming Lion at the Linden Multiplex Cinemas theatres in Brooklyn on May 1.

According to Fax, since the suspense thriller was done without his usual partnership with McAlpin, he has been required to take on a variety of tasks.

"I wear a lot of hats in the movie," he said recently.

Those include scriptwriter and director. He also plays 'Judah', one of the lead roles in the film, which weaves a plot around murder and intrigue, but, insisted Fax, it is not a "shoot 'em up" feature.

Movie theme

"The theme of the movie is that two detectives investigate a serial killer known as 'The Symbolic Killer'," Fax explained.

The movie is shot in New York City, particularly in Brooklyn, a borough known for its high ratio of Jamaican residents. The cast, according to Fax, is "80 per cent Jamaican-born" and includes deejay Louie Rankin, who appeared in the movies Shottas and Belly. Fax also gave roles to Nico Musriche and Melesia Thomas, who appeared in Bashment. And while the movie focuses on Jamaican culture, including a heavy dose of reggae in the soundtrack from artistes such as Louis Rankin and Morgan Heritage, Fax is hoping that it will have a broad appeal in the US.

"It's another Jamaican movie," he said, "but it has potential to cross over to the American audience."

Fax began filming Roaming Lion in early February. He said he is seeking a deal with a distribution company which will also allow audiences to eventually get a chance to see it in Jamaica, possibly around June.

"I wanted to run it in the movie theatres in Jamaica, but the deal is not favourable right now," he said.

Fax acknowledged that without McAlpin, the demands for making the film were greater, especially in areas like marketing.

"It's a lot more responsibility," he said.

But he also takes full credit for the movie's artistic direction.

"I have a partner, but he's just a partner financially," Fax explained. "When it comes to the creative side, it's all me."

Still, he said he is not afraid to pursue projects alone because he has always had the ideas.

Vision

"I am the one with the vision," Fax said. "The vision really started with me wanting to make movies about Jamaica in the US, I am definitely on a mission to make Jamaican movies to be on the level, or as popular, as reggae music."

However, he denied that his filmmaking is motivated strictly by financial returns.

"It's not all about money though," said Fax. "It's the love. People loving this movie and endorsing it would be great success for me. I want people to look at Jamaican movies as they look at Hollywood movies."

In the end, explained Fax, the island's creative voice should be heard.

"The culture (of Jamaica) is very rich," he said. "Jamaica is a small country, but it is much bigger than larger countries. We have a lot of stories to tell."

Gordon Williams is a Jamaican journalist based in the United States.