Everything you want to know about the premiere of Suriname
Well. There’s no such thing as bad publicity. Of course we had to be there. I mean: we’re talking about the most notorious film of the year. Yes, that one film where all hell broke loose because one of the lead actresses (Imanuelle Grives) was arrested with half a pharmacy of, uh, narcotic goodies at Tomorrowland. The actress told the police that she wanted to prepare for her new role in Suriname, but that excuse turned out to be of little help.
The surprise of the evening was that the actress, after her grand media silence, was present in Tuschinski to say her piece on stage before the start. Well, those who are shaved must sit still. ‘Sorry. Sorry producers. Sorry crew, cast, fans: sorry. Sorry that I did not respect my professionalism and role model. Cast: thank you for the quick adjustments. And a special shoutout to Fajah Lourens: thank you for taking over my role.’ Okay, Ima didn’t have to do this. Just try standing there in a room full of known public and press.
You have to have steel balls if you want to dare to make a joke. When a photographer on stage wants to take a picture of her, Imanuelle says: ‘Oh, wait. You have to take photos,’ after which the actress keeps turning a quarter turn and pretends that mugshots are being taken. ‘I learned that on my mandatory vacation,’ after which the audience bursts into laughter. Touché.
What do you do when one of the lead actresses suddenly gets arrested? Then you quickly look for a suitable replacement. Fortunately, Fajah Lourens was available to be flown in at the last minute. That she now has a supporting role in Suriname, about a presidential candidate who still has one foot in the brutal underworld, is a matter of coincidence. Business partner and friend producer Rodney Leysner urgently needed her help. And I must say: Mrs. Killerbodymotivation did not do badly at all. In fact: Fajah stole the show as far as I’m concerned. From fitness guru to ‘crime bitch’ in two weeks. And I can safely say that the hardest laughter was during her scenes. And that we are all a bit scared of Josylvio, who plays a disturbed psychopath in his acting debut and immediately sets the tone in the first ten minutes with a ‘cozy’ game of pool.
Moving on to the film itself. Without dropping too many spoilers, I can be brief when I say that fewer people are mowed down in Game of Thrones. Hallelujah. And I naively thought we were going to the premiere of some kind of comedy. I must say, however, that given the tight budget, they managed to switch things up quite well at the last minute. The whole corruption angle could have been presented a bit less flat, but considering that almost three-quarters of the cast doesn’t even act professionally (radio DJ, fashion designer, rapper, you name it), it’s hard to say much about that.
Whether Suriname will win a Golden Calf, I wonder, but are we talking about an entertaining evening in the red chair? Absolutely. Popcorn ready? Suriname is now playing in theaters.
