May 21, 2009
It’s the Time
- Dez Vylenz
Left Paramaribo early Wednesday night and landed in Amsterdam early Thursday morning. Fast times, editing till midnight on Tuesday. Very productive few weeks and inspiring to see many entrepreneurs, artists and filmmakers in Suriname doing their thing up to very high standards. This despite the incredible brain drain the country has experienced since the early 1980s.
Been lucky to get commissioned for several projects, so it enables me to visit the homeland more often in a year. It’s a big difference in vibe from Western Europe, the moment I landed back in Amsterdam this morning, the geography stretching out beneath the Suriname Airways Jumbo like a carved out Legoland, canals lining out like circuit boards in a flat green. Fitting to the science fiction thriller I have to start writing for London locations. Just seven weeks ago I saw the sea of broccoli approaching fast before the plane landed. The country is still around 80% jungle. I can’t wait to capture it all on film: the urban chaos and vibrancy in the midst of all that nature.
On every trip a song slowly takes over as underlying score to the film you’re living at that particular moment in time. I recognized the music sample track from The Zombies and I always loved the orginal (Time of The Season), but this time the song had the perfect film noir feel and completely in line with some of the action going on in my life, being nonstop on the move through so many different worlds. It also captures the spirit of so many independent women doing their thing and often with more drive and focus than most men. Anyway, the song is Give It To Me Right by Melanie Fiona (with Guyanese origins, vibe-practically a neighbour of Suriname) still sticks to me, so I had to google her up to see who was behind that beautiful performance. Incredibly, her looks live up to every sensual and confident fiber of the song.
Check it out.