By Darlene Donloe
In the drama, Home Again, veteran actress CCH Pounder
plays a distraught mother who, naively, puts her teenage son in harm’s way
because she didn’t know any better.
Her inexperience
with the law leaves her son in a precarious situation after he is sent back to
Jamaica where he has no familial ties.
This film is a
reality check about what happens every day in this and other countries, to
persons,
including
children, who, if caught breaking the law, are sent back to their native
countries even if they’ve never lived there.
The One Village Entertainment, RLJ
Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE) brand, is a
heart-wrenching tale of three strangers deported to a home they’ve never known,
forced to start their lives over on the unforgiving streets of Jamaica. Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air), Stephan James (Degrassi:
The Next Generation), Lyriq Bent (The Saw
franchise) and CCH Pounder (Avatar, The Shield) costar in the drama
from award-winning director Sudz Sutherland.
Marva (Ali), a single
mother from Toronto, struggles to cope with being ripped from her children.
Everton (James), an irresponsible British teen, desperately awaits word of his
court appeal. Dunston (Bent), a New Yorker, tries to escape his criminal past. Once
in Kingston they discover every day is a fight for survival where family
support, friendships, and shelter are elusive. They embark on a journey that
pushes their endurance beyond measure and forces them to discover who they
truly are.
I recently caught up with the Emmy-nominated
Pounder, who can also be seen in FX’s Sons
of Anarchy, to talk about her role in Home
Again.
CCH POUNDER
DD: This film is
so daunting and dark. Your thoughts when you first read the script?
CCHP: My idea of
this movie is that it’s a cautionary tale. It’s a way to start a dialogue of
what we do with our children. Sometimes lack of knowledge can leave you in a
precarious position.
It’s about what’s
happening every day in the U.S. and may countries around the world. You can
just replace Jamaica, where this film takes place, with Mexico, Russia or any
other country.
DD: How did this
movie affect you?
CCHP: I’m really
interested in telling those stories, but more than anything because I wasn’t
aware of the child factor and what can happen. It’s important that movies can
incite dialogue. We are going through it right now. Should we allow them to
have a driver’s license? They also want to go to college. Some parents didn’t do the work for
their children. In the seven to nine years it takes to file proper paperwork,
you very well could forget to do it. These things we don’t think about. The
problem only happens to be a problem. I think the film has a potential to
change policy or at least be part of a dialogue. Be more than just a drama in
the theater, it has all the potential. It is a fair depiction. The rings of
truth are very real. You are hoping that it goes beyond just a movie. We need
to consider. Could this happen to me?
DD: You play a woman who seems to be at her
wit’s end. What do you think about her?
CCHP: As the actor you say to yourself, ‘How
could she be so stupid?’ I got very annoyed with my character. I had to go back
to what happens when you’re not a person of privilege. Once I got the sense of a single mother,
an immigrant, raising a child, a male children, a Jamaican male child, once you
get that whole picture together and you realize all the things you’ve been
spending time on – that is where the discipline goes into crisis mode. You’re
left with no time to instill and inspire.
DD: Describe working with Sudz Sutherland.
CCHP: The Sutherlands are a husband and wife
production team. I was completely blown away by the work they had done prior.
I’m from Guyana. I was born and raised there. I grew up in Englanda and was
brought to the U.S. I have been immigrating all of my life.
I have a penchant for the Caribbean and for Caribbean films.
The scripts have
to be good. It doesn’t have to be political, or of a social consciousness for
me to want to do it. Sudz and his wife are fascinating.
Home Again is currently available on DVD and
digital download. The suggested
retail price is $14.98. TRT: 104 minutes
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