Local film premieres at Butler Heritage Week

This Friday, Florence independent film company Fu Family Films premieres their latest project, "The Good, The Bad and The Hood" at the Butler High School Gym in Hartsville.

Fu Family Films is headed by director and former martial arts champion Oscar Jackson and created as a joint effort with his wife Tonya. Jackson, a native of Trinidad & Tobago, first attracted attention as a martial arts champion fighting in South America and was asked to choreograph fight scenes or martial arts films. After gaining considerable experience in film, he began heading up his own projects, writing and co-directing the film "Death Junction" in Canada and taking on a full directorial role for the Caribbean film "Enter The Black Dragon".

The decision to establish the film company in Florence was Tonya’s idea, a Florence native.

"We started (Fu Family Films) because...we got here and we noticed there were a lot of artists, a lot of talent, but this (wasn't) an industry-driven town," said Tonya. The decision, to create Fu Family Films, sh explained, was birthed from a desire for a mode of expression for the artistic community in Florence.
“Fu Family Films are the mediators,” said Maurice Windom, an actor and also a member of Fu Family Films. “We want to make ourselves more accessible to Florence.”

Fu Family Films has operational since 2002, producing local television shows, commercials as well as conducting media camps for adolescents and teenagers in the Florence area.

Their latest production is "The Good, The Bad and The Hood", which focuses on the desire of an independent filmmaker to record the reality of his troubled neighborhood.
The message it has to convey, explained Oscar, is an important one for the entire community be cause “we (touch) on a topic that a lot of people don’t want to touch on: the reality of the hood. We wanted to show that lifestyle, what it means, what it looks like and (viewers) can judge for themselves what they think about it.”

Many of the film’s actors were local residents with little or no experience with acting. First-time actors weren’t a problem, noted Oscar, he actually prefers them.
“I love to work with first-time actors because I think everyone deserves a chance,” he said, “and I think it’s harder for them to get a break in the industry.”
The title role of the independent filmmaker is taken on by Windom and also stars James Hatcher.

The film debuts this Friday at 6: 30 p.m. as part of Butler Heritage Week, which honors the legacy of Butler High School.
For more information about Butler Heritage Week, call (843) 857-9047 or (843) 332-5809.
For more information about Fu Family Films, visit http://www.myspace.com/fufamilyfilms

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