On Saturday, 13th January, the Barbadian film director Jonathan Temple introduced ‘Camouflage’, his dramatic thriller series, to the United Kingdom. Hosted at Barbados House in central London, It was also the day that the new deputy high commissioner of the United Kingdom, Mackie Holder, made his first official public appearance, The new incumbent replaced Rev. Charles Morris, whose contract ended in October, and has subsequently been appointed a senator in the Barbados legislature.
Camouflage is about a man whom two young men violently rob, but they are unaware their victim is heavily connected, and the consequences of this attack threaten their lives. The situation spirals from danger to fatal when the victim’s father and his crew start to hunt the perpetrators. A powerful script, almost poetic in parts, aligns with the two flash points in violence, which is the backdrop to the narrative. On the night, it was rapturously received and heralded a lively Q and A, with many of the audience expressing surprise at the quality and technical excellence of the film.
The DHC said that every aspect of the film was exceptional. “The cinematography, the acting, the storyline and the way that it weaved in so many aspects of Barbados, the locations, the culture, it was really well done.”For him, a takeaway from the film was the role of social media, which he believes is both a force for good and bad. The important message about social media is that people can be more concerned with ‘likes’ and not with the reality of life. The film does include some violence. When asked whether this content should be toned down, he said that the film is a creative process and does not represent the entirety of life in Barbados; in the same way, a British movie with similar content would not represent life in Britain. “We know what Barbados is, we know Barbados is a democratic country, we know Barbados is a safe country, we know Barbados is a beautiful country, and like anything, we have our challenges, but it’s a film. I don’t think anyone reasonable person would come to this film and think that it represents Barbados.”
