BY: GLORIA MUGENYI
The CaribbeanTales Inc. held a screening for “Bruk Out;” a documentary about the dancehall craze that hails from Jamaica.
The movie screening held on Feb.16th at the Royal Theatre in Toronto was one of the many features picked in honor of this year’s Black History Month.
The movie “Bruk Out” goes on a journey that showcases many females from all over the world that have been inspired by dancehall, some of whom have gone on to teach it in their respective cities.
The movie captures the journey of a different woman preparing and leading up to the 2014 Dancehall Queen contest in Jamaica. Ladies from all over the world including those from Japan, Italy, Jamaican; the United States and more, all vying for a chance to be crowned the dancehall queen.
“Bruk Out” is a movie that empowers women to live their truth, love themselves and feel free to be whomever they want to be regardless of their shape, size or race.
“Bruk Out” highlights the struggles, the funny moments and the emotional times that these women face every day.
From women choosing to embrace their bodies to a single mother who is trying to provide a better life for her child, to those who live and breathe the dancehall life in Jamaica, all hoping to win the coveted title of a Dancehall Queen.
This movie shows that through the struggles, these women can always turn to dancehall for a good time. Many travel to Jamaica each year hoping to learn more about dancehall while also enjoying life with the locals.
A warning for those who are hoping to see “Bruk Out” with their children, the movie has a very liberal tone. For those that might not be open to the dancehall music language, you might want to opt for a censored or PG version if available.
The movie was introduced by Toronto’s own Bee Quammie who had previously sat down with one of the filmmakers of this film.
According to Quammie who also contributed to the movie’s kick-starter fund, those involved in bringing the movie to life wanted to showcase the power of these women.
“She wanted to dive into dancehall culture and what that meant for women specifically and how they wanted to find their own sense of power and reclaim part of themselves through having that freedom of Dancehall,” said Quammie
Quammie also interviewed “Famous Red,” one of the dancehall queens featured in the film. Famous Red is of Jamaican descent and lives in Queens, New York.
“It got to show her as a plus size woman being in love with her body and moving her body and being sexy and sensual and just being able to embrace that about herself and seeing others embrace that about her as well,” said Quammie
The movie was showcased to a sold-out crowd with many left outside in line hoping to purchase tickets.
The audience cheered, laughed, uploaded and at times became emotional as the movie went on, but one thing for sure; many in the audience were pleased with the movie afterward.
The event started with a showcase of Toronto filmmaker Louis Taylor and his daughter Altair Pflug-Taylor who are putting together a Vlog web series on their YouTube channel “Spawn and Geezer.”
According to the duo, the series will follow the journey of “a geriatric straight black male and his gay, non-binary and biracial child.”
According to the pair, they’re looking to show another side of a black family than what we’re used to seeing on our TV screens.
“I get really sick of mainstream notions family, we’re at a point in human existence where it’s (bleeping) insane…I’m really tired of the depiction from black artists depicting black family when it’s just a reprise of 50’s families,” said Taylor.
CaribbeanTales is a registered Canadian charity that creates, markets and distributes educational programs and products intended to promote racial equality in Canada.
CaribbeanTales also works with the new talent of African or Caribbean decent looking to showcase their talent in the media industry.
To learn more about the Caribbean Tales and movies or events, visit: http://www.caribbeantales.org
