(Oranjestad)—Crioyo Productions is a local production team, consisting of eight talented people with a mission to produce quality film that showcase different local talents within the Aruban community.
Crioyo Productions was established in 2022. In a short time, they have produced two short film, namely “Ruman” and “Nigh Shift,” with both receiving positive reactions from the public. “Ruman” was part of the international Four Points Film Project, and will be presented as a short film this year at the Playa Film Festival. During their participation in the Bonaire’s 48-hour Film Project, their second short film, “Night Shift,” was nominated in different categories, including best story and best sound. The film ended up snatching the price for best character. Both films were written, filmed and produced in less than 48 hours.
“Our passion of making movies is something that sets us apart,” according to Jason Yarzagaray, co-founder of the production team. “We strive to produce films that provoke emotions while also illustrating different aspects of our island and culture.”
Currently, the team is working on “CAMP,” which promises to be their biggest production yet. The team has especially focused on looking for local actors and artists, so that they could get the chance to show off their talents to the world, while also maintaining the standard of quality for their film: “We want to create something that can resonate with a global audience,” Frederik “Professor” Bernabela stated. Frederik is a director and co-founder of Crioyo Productions. “Our goal is to not only put Aruba on the map, but also change the way people perceive Caribbean cinema.”
The story behind CAMP is inspired by real events. The story was written by Ephrayim Odor, a talented local writer, who is also known as a member of the comedy sketch team “Djis pa Hari” (Just for Laughs). This movie tells the story of two friends that grew up and live in a neighborhood plagued with gang activity, drugs and violence.
“We want to tell a story that is sometimes overlooked or underestimated within our community, and create awareness about this existing problem,” Jeanmiree van der Werf have stated, researcher for Crioyo Productions and social worker.
“The goal of this project is to inspire kids to make the right decisions, even though life seems tough sometimes,” Professor said. “We hope to inspire other people within our community as well.”
Crioyo Productions’ compromise is to produce sublime content, in which their work and quality will shine through. The team think that there are so many stories that have yet to be told and they hope to continue producing and sharing more content with the entire world.
