Nadean Rawlins giving a voice to the voiceless
Published:Sunday | July 2, 2023 | 12:45 AMDamian Levy - Sunday Gleaner Writer
For many in the filmmaking world, the call to create comes at different stages. Some in their formative years, others later in life. Some do it to tell their own stories and some to be a voice for others. For Nadean Rawlins, the call came at an early age. It is one she did not ignore and for the director, and president of the Jamaica chapter of the Women in Film And Television, it has been a way for her to tell stories no one dares to, giving a voice to the voiceless.
“From I was a baby. I remember when I used to feel bad because the light cut off and I couldn’t get to watch TV. I was just always fascinated by television. We had a television that was so bad that if you turn it off it was hard to turn on back ... I used to cover it with a sheet so when my grandmother was going to sleep she didn’t see it was still on so the next day I could watch TV,” Rawlins told The Sunday Gleaner.
With an early fascination with moving pictures, Rawlins gravitated towards film noir and Broadway musicals, leading her to begin her artistic career in the pantomime. “I did the pantomime for ten years. That’s where it started ... as an actor, especially in Jamaica, you find that there’s not many theatre houses, and so you’re limited as to the scope of the work you can do.”
A limitless appetite for art, and a limited space for performance, Rawlins sought out different avenues for her creativity, eventually starting her own production company. There, she could express her self, not just as an actress, but as a producer. “I started Raw Management where we produced our own plays, and then okay, still stuck in theatre ... So what was next? Film. And then the sky’s the limit with film,” she said. Rawlins made the move to film at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Where the film industry suffered great loss, Rawlins found an opportunity.
“The programmes I’ve done since I’ve been a filmmaker, I wouldn’t have been able to do if it wasn’t for COVID. For example, I participated in Rotterdam Film Lab and typically we’d have to fly there but we did it online ... it allowed me the opportunity to learn about film because I never studied it,” she shared.
Confident in her choice to become an artist, Rawlins nevertheless recounted the challenge she received in her formative years with little to no support from her high school educators.
“I had absolutely no support from some of the faculty when it came to my interest in performing arts. At that time I was a young kid who was in a drama club ... People would say ‘acting? You need fi go tun lawyer or doctor.’ And I understand because they didn’t see a career at that time. Now people see a career with social media,” shared Rawlins.
INSPIRATIONS
In adulthood she found the support for her vision, naming cinema legend Natalie Thompson, founder of Cinecom Productions, and the iconic Justine Henzell, as two standout cheerleaders for her work.
“Natalie Thompson ... she’s like the godmother of film in Jamaica and she has influenced me so much ... Justine Henzell to be using her space, which we used for rehearsals for my film. They are like my aunties in film, those two women.”
For inspiration Rawlins names Oprah Winfrey and Kris Jenner. “Oprah Winfrey, though she’s not a filmmaker, her humble beginnings, her aspirations, how she was pressed to get what she wanted despite adversities. She’s also a brilliant actor,’ she said. “I love Kris Jenner because I do manage people as well. I like her management style. And she’s also a Scorpio like me.”
With outpouring support, and a world of inspiration, Rawlins confidently tells stories on her own terms. Her recent short film Parolytic features a transgender person living in Jamaica. The film is mostly silent and features surreal and startling imagery, a choice that Rawlins described as intentionally jarring.
“As a filmmaker or even as an individual ... I don’t like to follow the crowd. Especially as a film producer, I want to tell stories that nobody wanted, especially in our capacity here in Jamaica as filmmakers. I don’t want to be telling the same story because everybody else is telling it. So my stories, to be honest, have to be the stories that people are afraid of, the people who we consider voiceless.”
While the subjects of gender fluidity and the LGBTQIA+ community may seem uncommon for Jamaican filmmaking, for Rawlins it’s very much covered ground.
“My first film was about a female politician who was struggling with her sexuality ... and then there was Boy/Girl And All The Rest which was a documentary about a non-binary kid who was abused because they were unsure of their sexuality and their parents weren’t understanding it as well,” she said.
When it came to Parolytic, Rawlins felt an urgency to shine a light on the oppression experienced by members of the transgender community.
“They are seriously oppressed, more than you think. Even within the LGBTQIA+ community, they’re looked at as almost forbidden. And so it was important to tell their story. I want to find those stories to talk about.”
Such subject matter might not have attracted several partners in the making of the film, but the Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) enthusiastically joined Rawlins on her journey to bring the film to life. “JAFTA they’re seeking stories like that. We don’t want to see the same stories about Jamaica. We know the sand is beautiful and the sea is nice and the music is great, but there are other stories to be told,”Rawlins argued.
As challenging as making a film can be, she had nothing but kind words to say about her cast and crew, a feature she maintains is crucial to a set. “We all have to be on the same page. Meaning you come with your idea and me with mine and it always works out ... even if I don’t agree we agree to disagree about it.”
With the writing process being an integral part of bringing a film to life, she is helping to spearhead a workshop. “A lot of people have an idea but to write it for film is a different ballgame, so we want to champion a workshop like that where we select five screenwriters and match them with professional screenwriters ... hopefully we can get it off by next year.”
As if she wasn’t busy enough, Rawlins also spoke to the plans for her own productions with Raw Management Ltd. “One is called Fallen Angel, Devil’s Concubine ... it’s an adaptation from a stage play. I’m very excited because it’s a play I was in ... The other is called Raised by Goats ... it’s going to be film noir in black and white. It’s written by Cooper Allen, and it’s set in 1962 Jamaica ... it’s about a young girl who is dealing with the trauma of an abusive relationship and a miscarriage and she retreats to the mountains and meets a recluse young man who lives with a mongoose,” she shared.
Of her career in film, Rawlins said she is satisfied doing what she loves but the journey is not without its challenges. “Funding. I’ve been very fortunate that the films I’ve made have been a part of programmes that I had to apply for ... it’s not all the time you’re going to have that opportunity.”
With funding a constant issue, Rawlins invites the support from corporate entities to see the limitless potential of entertainment.
She has her sights set high. “I would love to win an Oscar ... not just for the international foreign film, I want to be in the categories with the big guys. That’s where I want to be.”