‘Haven’ opens 9/11
Film director Frank E Flowers (left) along with Haven
star Bill Paxton
by Brian Buckley
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Caymanian film director Frank E Flowers’ film ‘Haven’ is scheduled to
premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September at the
Ryerson Theatre.
The film will also show on 13 September.
Mr Flowers, who is currently in Los Angeles making last minute preparations
for his first feature film, spoke with Cayman Net News in a telephone interview
last week.
According to the website imdb.com, the plot of Haven takes place during a
single weekend in which two shady businessmen (Bill Paxton and Stephen Dillane)
flee from Miami to the Cayman Islands to avoid federal prosecution, but their
escape ignites a chain reaction that leads a young British expatriate (Orlando
Bloom) to commit a crime that changes the nation.
When asked if this film may sully the Cayman Islands’ reputation, in the way
many Caymanians feel the film ‘The Firm’ did with its portrayal of the Cayman
Islands as a money-laundering haven, Mr Flowers disagreed. “I think Haven is
different. ‘The Firm’ was a film made by outsiders to the island and the Firm
utilised a sensationalised point of view.
“Haven is told from a Caymanian perspective, written and directed by a
Caymanian, with Caymanians in many roles and on the crew.
“Sure, there are a lot of fictional elements to it, but ‘The Firm’ used the
Cayman Islands as a backdrop. With Haven, the entire community came out and
supported it and it was shot completely in Cayman,” said Mr Flowers.
Speaking directly to the possible negative portrayal of Cayman’s financial
sector he said: “I can’t comment on that right now. No one has seen the film
yet. I think we have to wait until people see the film and see what they say.”
Mr Flowers, who majored in film at the University of Southern California,
expressed his excitement over being selected for the Toronto Festival. “It’s
very exciting. It’s an international festival in a North American country, and
the festival goers are considered real audiences,” he said. “It’s not just film
critics and film business people. The people from Toronto come out to see the
films,” he added.
Film festivals around the globe are where the makers and shakers in the film
industry convene to watch the latest films just out of production. Once viewed,
the producers seek to sell the films to movie distributors. For Mr Flowers, he
has these hopes, too.
“I’m hoping to sell Haven there, for sure.
The William Morris Agency, which represents both Mr Flowers and the film,
will have two agents at the film festival hoping to close a deal.
In the meantime Mr Flowers, who also wrote and directed the short film
Swallow (2003), is working around the clock working on publicity packets and
posters. “It’s hard to enjoy all that’s going on right now because I’m so busy.
It’s hard to kick back and enjoy the fruits of the labor because the labor is
not done just yet,” he said.
Frank E Flowers Sr, Frank’s father, served as a production consultant on the
movie. “The film was a family affair,” said the junior Flowers, “My father
helped to protect me from the logistics and unexpected turns so that I could be
left in the creative realm,” he said.
Asked if he could see himself filming a future film in the Cayman Islands, Mr
Flowers said: “It would have to be the right circumstances to make me feel
comfortable. We would have to go a long way to justify it financially because it
is expensive in Cayman. But on a grass roots level, I have more support there
than anywhere in the world.”
Mr Flowers thinks people will enjoy Haven. “I think it is an exciting,
dramatic, and tragic love story. This film is intriguing and contains elements
that have never been seen before. I’m showing a world on film that is unique.”
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