Newfoundland. The place that made me. Growing up there was quite the treat, but only after moving, I realized how beautiful the island is. I lived in a house where if I looked out my window in the Summer, I could see an iceberg. Might have taken it for granted when I lived there, but now when I think about it, it feels like a beautiful dream.
I’ve always wanted to someday return to Newfoundland whether it be for retirement, or to make a movie. I’m thinking the latter…since I’m a little young to retire just yet. In 2016, Jashan (my brother) and I were watching a YouTube clip on Mummering. What is Mummering? Well it is a tradition in Newfoundland, that can be traced all the way back in England. It involves a group of friends or family who dress in disguise and visit homes in within their community or neighboring communities during the twelve days of Christmas. If the mummers are welcomed into a house, they often do a variety of informal performances that may include dance, music, jokes, or recitations. That was the Wikipedia definition, and probably the best way to describe it. Thanks Wiki.
Its great, its weird, and if you think deep enough about it, it can get a little creepy. In fact in 1861, it was illegal. A death was involved where masked Mummers murdered a man named Issac Mercer, in Bay Roberts, NL. So my brother and I thought, hey, lets make a horror film! Lets get into the folklore, including stories of fairies and no, not tinkerbell. I got in contact via a mutual friend with writer Cole Hayley. I sent him a treatment, and he started writing. The film is called “Allowed In”, a coming-of-age horror, and it dwells into old fairy folklore, and of course…Mummers. Its funny, unsettling, dramatic and of course, fun.
- Bhaveek N. Makan
