With film awards season in full swing, local documentary Beacon Farms is gaining accolades on the international film festival circuit. On Friday, the Beacon Farms movie received its second award when it won the Science & Education award at the London International Film Festival.
Producer and director Candy Whicker was in London to collect her award at a glitzy ceremony held at the Hilton Docklands. “The award is testament to all the wonderful people at Beacon Farms you see in the movie,” she said. “It’s also particularly exciting that this award recognises the science and education aspects of the Beacon Farms project. The farm is really pushing boundaries for agriculture as well as developing solutions for people in recovery. I hope this recognition attracts greater support for the important work they are doing.”
The documentary follows the daily lives of former addicts working at Beacon Farms, a non-profit organisation set up to provide jobs in agriculture for Caymanians recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. The reversal in fortunes of a rundown, barren property in North Side reflects the transformative effect that a safe, sober work environment set in nature has had for many at Beacon Farms.
The London International Film Festival, also known as FFI London, was established 20 years ago to celebrate and recognise independent filmmakers across the globe. Other main contenders for awards this year were full length feature documentaries made by professional film companies including ‘Away,’ a film about a professional Danish basketball player moving to the US during the pandemic, and 'The Human Era' about climate change and the Amazon, made by a Brazilian director, Iara Cardoso.
The FFI London award is the second international award for the Beacon Farms movie, having won silver at the Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards in November.
It’s not too late to catch the Beacon Farms movie at the Camana Bay Cinema, as it’s running every Wednesday at 6pm throughout February. Tickets can be booked online at fandango.com.
I missed it at Camana Bay - where can it be seen now?