A powerful film,BOOST is opening March 2 in Vancouver at the Cineplex and across Canada!
This award nominated and winning film. Boost has been nominated for 5 Canadian Screen Awards including outstanding performances for Lead Actor Nabil Rajo, Supporting Role (Actor) – Jahmil French, and Supporting Role (Actress) Oluniké Adeliyi. Jahmil French (Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Divide, Flashpoint) nominated for best actor in a supporting role.
We had the honour of interviewing two of the stars Nabil Rajo and Guma Mbaho Mwine on the World Poetry Café Radio Show
The synopsis:
Hakeem (Nabil Rajo) and A-Mac (Jahmil French) are Montreal teenagers with very little interest in academic pursuits. Working part-time at Hakeem’s uncle’s car wash, they pick up a little extra dough by casing expensive sports cars that come in for a wash and turning over that information to more seasoned criminals. Eager to get a leg up in the game, they boost a car on their own, leading them down a path from instant gratification to life-threatening consequences.
“Making this an authentic immigrant story was really important. It’s about a kid outside the major ethno-cultural majority of Montreal,” Curtis says. “The idea was to lure them in with sexiness, drugs and cars; but at the heart of it is an emotional journey.”
Boost was written and directed by Darren Curtis, and produced by Academy Award winner Bunbury Films in co-production with Havelock Films, and in association with Telefilm Canada. It is distributed by Filmoption International.
Boost is the solo directorial debut from Darren Curtis who also is an actor and editor, known for Who Is KK Downey? (2008), Boost (2017) and The Trotsky (2009)
BOOST Stars:
Nabil Rajo Born in Asmara, Eritrea, Nabil Rajo moved to Toronto shortly after turning 6. His traditional upbringing did not involve the arts, instead Nabil allocated his time to studying and playing competitive basketball. Influenced by his uncle, who was a prominent independent filmmaker in Eritrea, Nabil decided to immerse himself in the world of professional acting by 2012, quickly switching his focus from journalism .
Jahmil French (Degrassi: The Next Generation),
Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Chi, Heroes) Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, born in New Hampshire and a dual citizen of Uganda, received his MFA in Acting from New York University and completed studies at The Moscow Arts Theatre in Russia, The Royal National Theatre in London and The University of Virginia. Ntare is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California (USC). He has also taught at Yale University and has taught theatre and film artists in more than a dozen countries in Africa.
Oluniké Adeliyi (Workin’ Moms, Darken).
BOOST is an exceptional film which shows how important choices can be and how they can affect young lives.
Sources: Jen Gorman and Filmoption International
