“Working Girl” is the story of a brilliant school girl who is driven by grave circumstances into the seedy world of prostitution. The tale explores the social issues of poverty, prostitution, maternal sacrifice and the hypocrisy of some men who by their reckless and irresponsible behavior help to ensure that the world’s oldest profession continues to flourish.

Lotus White is an underprivileged but intelligent sixteen year old student who becomes a schoolgirl by day and a hooker at night after she finds out that her mother has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and has only a few months left to live.

Her mother meanwhile, has worked all her life as a prostitute but she is determined that her young daughter should have a good education and a better life. When she finds out that she is dying she must dedicate all of her waning energy to one last fight to ensure that her lifelong plans for Lotus are not suddenly ruined. Will Lotus be able to maintain her virtue in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds or will she be unable to escape the vicious cycle of poverty and fall prey to the old saying: 'once a whore always a whore'?

“Working Girl” is an intense emotional drama with a good dose of comic relief.

FILM TITLE: Working Girl
GENRE: Drama
RUNNING TIME: 115 Minutes
PREMIERE DATE:   June 9^th 2011 at the Deluxe Cinema
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anderson Andrew
DIRECTOR:
Nigel Trellis is the head of Tropical Films, a new filmmaking group based in Antigua and Barbuda.

Nigel has to date produced one narrative short film entitled “Hooked” (2009) which was aired on local television, Tempo Networks and CBC in Barbados. “Working Girl” (2010) is his first feature film. He has also produced several commercials and music videos, the most popular of which is “Water” by G-Man.

While a Chartered Accountant, Mr. Trellis has a great passion for the creative arts and is a self taught filmmaker. With a strong background in the Arts and Literature, Nigel is the principal screenwriter and film Director for Tropical Films.
 

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Terry-Ann Price as Lotus White
Melissa Mc Leish as Moira White
Bruce “Supa Dymond” Barthley as Oscar Glasshouse
Morrison George as Jamal Glasshouse
Kevin Abbott as Mr. Preston
Janel Martin as Harriette Glasshouse
Kaiser Lake as Club Patron 1
Patrick Simpson as Club Patron 2
Renato Christian as Club Patron 3
Billy Russel  as the Old Man
Centelia Browne as the Hotel Guest
Raymond Mc Lean as the Undertaker

A number of popular local personalities also appear in the film as extras or in cameo performances. Some notable names among these are sound system owner Whitney “Stonewall” Williams and well-known Grays Farm resident Gretna Francis.
 

FILM FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Working Girl has to date participated in one international film festival, the Africa International Film Festival which was held in Port Harcourt, Nigeria in December 2010. There the film won the coveted “People’s Choice Award” from a field of thirteen international features that were selected from more than one hundred entries from countries all over the world.

The film has also been entered into the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival slated for September 2011, the Aruba Film Festival (June 2011) and the Urban World Film Festival produced by BET Networks slated for September 2011 in New York.

SCREENING FORMAT
The film will be screened locally using a 1080P High Definition Digital Cinema Projector. Patrons can therefore expect a very high standard of image and audio quality.

FILM RATING AND TARGET AUDIENCE
While the producers do not consider the Film R-Rated, patrons are cautioned that it does deal with a mature and very controversial subject in a bold and realistic manner. Some scenes may not be suitable for children under the age of thirteen (13).

FILM MUSIC
The film boasts a number of excellent original songs produced by a group of young, upcoming, Antiguan artistes. Featured artistes include Joel Baird aka “Gremstar”, Fucha Kidd, Thalia King, Damian Jackson, Sheldon “G-Man” Dick and Dorshan Simon aka “Shatta Don”.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FILM
Interested persons can view trailers, photographs and sneak previews of the movie by going to Facebook and searching for Tropical Films (Antigua). The group maintains a very popular Facebook page which has attracted over 6,700 fans from across the Caribbean and as far afield as North America and Europe. As a token of appreciation Tropical Films will be giving away free movie tickets to twenty (20) of it’s locally based Facebook fans. The draw for this will be held on June 12^th.

PLANS FOR THE FILM BEYOND ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
It is absolutely essential for financial viability that local film productions are able to successfully tap into larger markets outside of Antigua and Barbuda. Tropical Films considers its target market to be the English speaking Caribbean, the Caribbean Diaspora in North America and Europe, and Africa. Home grown movies are extremely popular in Africa and their films have found a large audience in the Caribbean. There is no reason therefore why Caribbean filmmakers in turn cannot export our products to the massive markets of that continent. Plans are afoot to take the movie on tour across the Caribbean later in the year and into next year while DVD releases are planned for the countries further afield.

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Photography captions , above:
Photo 1, top - Terry-Ann Price & Morrison George.
Photo 2, mid-left - Melissa McLeish as Moira White.
Photo 3, mid-right - Melissa McLeish as Moira White.
Photo 4, bottom left, Terry-Ann Price and Bruce Barthley.
Photo 5, bottom right, Bruce Barthley as Oscar Glasshouse.

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