‘Children of God’ Balances Culture & Chaos with Religion, Sexuality

Writer and director Kareem J Mortimer’s prepares a feast of the eyes in the intriguing feature Children of God. Rich with conflict, chaos andculture, we discover characters struggling and reconciling with religionand homosexuality against the background of the picturesque Islands ofthe Bahamas. Expanding from his first short film, Float (2007), with the same theme and storyline, Mortimer introduces us to new characters with disturbing stories to tell and fleshes out the character of Johnny (Johnny Ferro), the young awkward Bahamian painter. When we meet him,his artwork is suffering and he is sleeping with a “tough man” who is”down low”. With his life in turmoil and career on the edge, his teacher gives him the chance to recover when she offers him her house on the island of Eleuthra.
Children of God is a web of relationships. We meet Lena Mackey (Margaret Laurena Kemp) and her traditional husband, Reverend Mackey (AijalonColey),a well-known pastor. They are leaders of SAVE THE BAHAMAS, a campaign to rid the Bahamas of homosexuals in an effort to “protect their children”. When Lena discovers that she has a sexually transmitted disease, her life is thrown into chaos. She escapes to Eleuthra where she meets a liberal pastor who forces her to question her husband — and her beliefs. At the same time Johnny meets Romeo (Stephen Tyrone Williams), an old classmate and the island musician. They strike up a relationship and begin to discover themselves. Their intimate moments come to an end when Romeo’s mother crashes their “love nest” with asurprise. It is a thick web and Johnny, Lena and Romeo must find their way out of it.

The film is filled with many themes as we look at: bi-racial relationships; the Caribbean “down low” phenomenon; the struggle of the conservatives against gay rights and the hypocrisy of the church. It is a rich intercultural experience as authentic Bahamian culture is shown in glimpses of the nighttime fish-fry parties, lazy island life and family gatherings. Mortimer takes viewers into the action and weexperience a mini vacation amidst the turmoil as local music, scenes ofisland nightlife and local jargon which make us feel that we are on theisland of Eleuthra alongside the characters in struggle.

As Johnny and Romeo get closer on the island, their environment getsmore beautiful. We find ourselves deep in the ocean, laying on expansive, sandy beaches and high on beautiful cliffs. At one point, as Romeo and Johnny share a moment under one of the cliffs, your breath stops. It is magic. Mortimer uses their environment to show that even though they are falling in love, they must ultimately hide. There are many beautiful moments in Children of God, you end up fully immersed in each scene. The cinematography is natural and the light brings out the amazing skin tones of each individual, making for a colorful film.

Children of God reminds us that hope still lies in the truth and reconciling religion and homosexuality lies in the Bible, “Love thy neighbor” but life isn’t about a storybook ending.

Sekiya Dorsett

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 6:03 pm and is filed under NewFest Selects 2010, News and tagged with , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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