Confronting domestic violence, mental illness with ‘Paint The Picture’ dance film

Through interpretive dance and music, Unique Arts Entertainment teamed up with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to produce “Paint The Picture”, a movie meant to raise awareness of domestic violence, human trafficking and mental illness.

Premiered on Friday evening, “Paint The Picture” was the brainchild of Director Kelton Jennings, the founder of Unique Arts Entertainment. It featured a youthful 30-member cast who harmonised to tell the stories of those affected by the social ills.

At the premiere held at the Regency Hotel, Jennings shared that “it was a dream to direct” and produce the piece that showcases the pure talent and “heart and soul” of local dancers who are striving to mark their place in Guyana’s arts industry while also fighting silent battles.

“It is not easy, doing what we do as artists and that is why I selected those three social ills because they hit close to home so I used dance to tell a very strong story and create a storyline that persons would immediately recognise and relate to,” Jennings said.

With dance being “a universal language,” he said it was the perfect avenue to portray the story as the movie will be be released for public viewing all across the world.

“This has never been done before in Guyana, and we let the art speak for itself. We wanted to create something that persons would be able to follow and to leave a legacy,” the Unique Arts Founder shared.

The project began back in July and the cast visiting several communities across Guyana interviewing over 100 young people to gain insight how the social ills affect them before the production was finalised.

The entire movie can be found on ‘UNIQUE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT PPRODUCTIONS’ on YouTube for public viewing.