Lights, Camera, Antigua: a small island on the big screen
In 2001 the first feature length film to come from the Eastern Caribbean was produced from a small film company in Antigua, HAMA productions. The movie, The Sweetest Mango, made history by being the highest grossing film ever to show in Antigua, outshining high budget film giants such as the Titanic and Jurassic Park. The duo that produced, directed and edited The Sweetest Mango on a shoe string budget, have shown the world what vision, creativity, hard work and a camera can do.
The story of HAMA productions is a movie script in itself. In fact, The Sweetest Mango is the account of Howard and Mitzi Allen, work partners, producers, directors, husband and wife, and masterminds behind the production company. The yin and yang of the pair comes from the different characteristics that each brings. Mitzi is an extravert having spent years of her life in front of the camera as a TV reporter and Howard is a soft spoken "behind the camera type of guy." He has a background as an electrical engineer and knew since he was a child that he wanted to make movies. Officially, Mitzi produces and Howard directs, films, edits, does the lighting and the sound but as Mitzi explained, "when you are on a budget everyone must do everything. We had one of our lead actresses dealing with sound and lights when she was not in a scene."
The vibrant couple began in the 1990’s as independent producers of documentaries, corporate and industrial videos, music videos, and television programs. After showing their production skills for over a decade they branched into film in 2002. The movies produced by HAMA are self financed. The first movie they created cost them $100,000. "We knew we could either build our dream house or make a movie. We decided that we wanted to make a film," said Mitzi. The films are shot digitally and pull from the local pool of talent. "Our star in our first film was Antigua’s Carnival Queen and the writer of the movie was a well known local author, D. Gisele Isaac," explained Mitzi. The films of HAMA give the audience a cultural cinematic experience. If you have never been to Antigua, you will get an understanding of the culture, people, frustrations and soul of the country. "We realize that television and film are the most powerful forms of communication. We are using this media to empower cultural awareness," explained Mitzi.
HAMA productions has also managed to bring about a new era to the country. "Historically Antigua has not had a film industry. We have not had the infrastructure to support one. However, more students in Antigua are embracing film studies now that a market has been made," explained Howard. HAMA is now on its fourth film, has recently purchased a cable channel, and is working with Ithaca College to bring interns to Antigua in order to get hands-on experience.
"The program we have with Ithaca college has been beneficial both in bringing fresh knowledge to our projects and for giving students the chance to work in every aspect of a film. We warn the students that we are a no budget operation. We say ‘no budget’ because the funds used are too little to be called low budget since in a low-budget film starts at $10,000,000 and an experimental film at $1,000,000," explained Mitzi. Despite the warnings, students flock to be selected by Mitzi and Howard to spend two months in Antigua making movies. "We think the draw is that students walk away with clips and a lot of hands on experience. The exchange of knowledge that exists is so mutually beneficial that we are hoping to work with more universities in the future," said Howard.
Such opportunities will arise as HAMA’s cameras never stop rolling. Since the success of the romantic comedy The Sweetest Mango, the group refuses to be type cast and has made two more movies including a political drama No Seed and a mystical thriller Djablesse. The overriding theme in their movies is the communication of the Caribbean cultural viewpoint. "The story of the Caribbean is our story and the story of our films," said Howard.
