August 13 2012 – Ghett’a Life screened at the 2011 Caribbean Tales Film Festival to  an oversold audience. People crammed the cinema at Harbourfront Centre,  spilling over into the aisles and even sitting on the floor just to watch the  most talked about film of the year. Now Canadians have the chance to experience Ghett’a Life in Toronto  from August 27 – September 2 at Albion Cinema.
 

      Ghett’a Life is an “against the odds” drama set in downtown Kingston, Jamaica.  Director Chris Browne describes the main character Derrick, as an ‘underground  Jamaican Rocky Balboa’. Derrick is a young athlete who literally fights for his  dream of being a champion boxer while facing a country,  community and family conflicted by a divisive political system.
 

      The film is 100%  Jamaican; committed to an authentic depiction of what life  is and what life can be in the inner city of Kingston. Director Chris Browne says that was  his goal from the beginning. “The story was inspired in  Jamaica  by Jamaicans. The cast, crew and funding are all Jamaican. It was suggested to me  many times that I should cast known, foreign actors to make the film more  marketable to the world audience but I wanted this film to feel authentic to  the Jamaicans watching it in Jamaica and abroad,” says Browne.
 

      Even before production, the film won an  award for Best Script at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. This year, the film won Best International Film at the San Francisco Black Film Festival and  shared the Jury Award at the Aruba  International Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Feature at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.
 

      Ghett’a  Life has enjoyed widespread popularity in Jamaica,  running for 12 weeks straight against Hollywood Blockbusters like Transformers  3; Ghett’a Life became the island’s  highest grossing film in 2011. “The response in Jamaica was overwhelming.  Friends would call me from the cinema and  hold up their cell phone at the end of the film so I could hear the audience on  their feet cheering and clapping,” says Browne.
 

      Browne says the film’s wild success is likely  due to the authenticity of the story. “I believe that the Jamaican audience saw  themselves in the film, and like the characters in the film, they want change  in their lives. I wanted to make a film about what is happening in downtown Kingston and how it  affects the people on a day to day basis. This film is about a boy who  struggles to overcome his obstacles to succeed, man against the system, which I  feel is a universal theme; something that everyone can identify with.”

 

 

      Chris Browne is available for interviews  via Skype and telephone.

      August 27 – September 2, 2012

      Albion Cinema | Albion Mall | 1530 Albion Road, Etobicoke,   ON

      Tickets: $10 

      Buy tickets online at www.brownpapertickets.com