Reel and Feature Film Credits
MLK Reel
Blood Bound
Directed by Richard LeMay
Featuring Margaret Laurena Kemp
2019
Bound to an ancient pact, a family of occult power descends upon a rural town to sacrifice four human lives, including a member of their own family.
Press:
https://www.thatmomentin.com/blood-bound-review/
https://www.pophorror.com/a-most-uncomfortable-viewing-blood-bound-2019-movie-review/
Ten-Cent Daisy
Directed by Lisbon Okafor
Featuring Margaret Laurena Kemp, Ameenah Kaplan, and Lauren Michelle
Directed by Lisbon Okafor, Ten-Cent Daisy (A Lost Mermaid Tale) follows three sisters—Orchid, Violet, and Daisy, the mermaid—who all run away from their small Caribbean fishing village after Daisy is assaulted by the local pastor. The mother, Iris (played by Margaret Laurena Kemp), confesses to the pastor’s murder so that the girls can start fresh in America. Twelve years later, the mother returns. The return, however, is not without obstacles.
Photos courtesy of Lisbon Okafor.
Press:
https://shadowandact.com/ten-cent-daisy-a-lost-mermaid-tale
https://afropunk.com/2017/10/upcoming-black-mermaid-film-ten-cent-daisy-spreads-wave-representation-black-girls-everywhere/
Children of God
Directed by Kareem Mortimer
Starring Margaret Laurena Kemp
2010
Children of God is the first Bahamian movie to have theatrical release in the United States and is currently airing on Amazon Prime through July 2020. The DVD is available through most online retailers and sold locally at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas.
“A landmark film, Children of God is the first feature film to tackle homophobia in the Bahamas. Margaret Laurena Kemp is phenomenal, playing Lena, the wife of a violently homophobic pastor who is secretly having sex with men. She is on a random crusade to save the Bahamas from gays, not knowing her own hubby is creeping with men. Obsessed with homosexuality, Lena attacks her son if his wrist moves the wrong way and delivers lines like, “What I tell you about that hand? You don’t want to go to hell, do you?” She rants of faith, delivering a venom-filled homophobic speech. Yet, when she is faced with the mess of her husband, she is as broken as the main character, Johnny. If there were any faults in this movie, Kemp’s performance redeemed every moment. All I could think was — why haven’t I heard of this woman before?”