Former resident to screen film in Cayman
Filmmakers Alex Helfrecht (front) and Jörg Tittel
(CNS Local Life): Former Cayman resident Alex Helfrecht will be bringing her critically-acclaimed film The White King to the CayFilm Cayman International Film Festival for a screening that will include a question-and-answer session with Helfrecht and the film’s producer Philip Munger. The White King is an adaptation of a book by the same name, written by Hungarian author György Dragomán.
It is about Djata, a carefree 12-year-old growing up in a brutal dictatorship shut off from the outside world. When the government imprisons his father, and Djata and his mother Hannah are labelled traitors, the boy will not rest until he sees his father again.
The feature film has been described by The Guardian newspaper as “unpredictable, disturbing dystopian drama” and “an intriguing, sombre work”. SciFiNow magazine has called it “…refreshing…upsetting…insightful…a very human look at both sides of the mechanics of a dictatorship…”. The movie had its world premiere at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival and was released theatrically by Signature Entertainment on 27 January 2017, followed by a digital and home video release.
The film will be screened on Saturday, 1 July at 8pm at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.
Helfrecht co-wrote and directed the film with her partner, Jörg Tittel. “This film can be viewed as a science fiction or perhaps a film of anticipation that paints a world in which the masses, like Djata and his parents, lead impoverished, rural lives under surveillance whilst the military leadership live luxuriously with exclusive access to worldly progress and technology,” she said in a CayFilm press release.
“I’m really excited about bringing it to Cayman and engaging with the local film community. The fact that Cayman now has a film festival that is continuing to grow is amazing. I hope CayFilm’s presence will encourage filmmakers, government and investors to help make Cayman a centre for film production.”
Helfrecht’s family has lived in Cayman since 1994 and she attended John Gray High School and UCCI (then called Community College of the Cayman Islands) between 1994 and 1995 before finishing her studies in the UK. She said she still feels a strong connection to the island and visits at least once a year, now with her husband and co-director, Tittel, and two children.
CayFilm takes place from 30 June to 3 July, and includes daily film screenings, question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers, panel discussions, workshops, an exclusive premiere screening, a celebrity gala event and an awards ceremony.
Tickets are available at Cathy Church’s Photo Centre and on the CayFilm website
Category: Film
