Scarborough's Love

This is a Scarborough Caribbean retelling of Romeo and Juliet but this time Romeo crashes Juliet’s house party and nobody dies in the end. An in-depth look at Black love through the eyes of the smart but short tempered nitpicky Patrick Martin and the ambitious but non compromising stubborn Dawn Ellis. These two Scarborough natives from opposite ends of the track discover what it truly takes to fall in love.

Growing up I’d watch movies like P.S. I love you and wondered if I would ever experience a love like that. Later I would see Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar, Coming to America and for some reason they didn’t live up to that longing feeling I felt at 12 years old. That deep unconditional, forever, beyond the grave type of love. Mr Darcy standing in the rain. Seeing shows like From Scratch reminded us that we want these types of stories.

And as I looked closer around me I realized that I had been witnessing a 38 year love story right in-front of my eyes. My parents who both immigrated here from Jamaica and Trinidad when they were 3 years old. It’s the reason why I hold onto the idea of experiencing Black love for myself.

For the rest of us, it’s been over 20 years since we’ve seen a love story like that play out on screen in a way that has shaped the nation. When asked, people say that Love and Basketball or Love Jones are their favourite Black love stories, films made over 20 years ago. I want to redefine what it means to be loved as a Black person on screen. Showing positive depictions of Black Love and darker skinned women being loved on screen.

My name is KhaRå Martin. I am an actor, writer, director, advocate, and filmmaker from Pickering/Scarborough Ontario. After winning the Robert Gill Award for my directorial debut at Hart House Festival. My goal was to tell stories for millennial Black audiences across all genres.

My debut short film No Justice No Peace premiered at TIFF NEXT WAVE and won Best Short Film at the Emerging Lens Film Festival and the Impact award at CineFAM Film Festival in 2021. My second documentary, The Idea of The Black Dollar is now on CBCGem. Currently, I'm hosting a docu-series called Black Community Mixtapes for OYA Media Group which premiered on CityTV.

Why Is This Film Important?

There is so much culture in Scarborough that is being torn down from Malvern mall to the Scarborough RT. If we don’t capture the history of Scarborough narratively before it it's gone. Then who will show the rich and vast culture of our city?

I want to tell a love story for Black people, Caribbean people, Immigrants, Canadians. We don’t have many narrative Caribbean love stories that highlight the richness of the culture, the diasporic or immigration story, or the differences between the islands. or any that highlight the Toronto experience from a Black Caribbean perspective.

What We Need & What You Get?

Budget: I am seeking $20,000 to bring the story of Scarborough's Love to life. The money will go towards paying cast and crew, providing jobs for other artists, and our film festival run. Our goal is that this film premieres at TIFF 2025!!!

Development Costs 7% - Our writer/director and producers have put their blood sweat and tears into making this film a reality. It is our goal that the people of Scarborough feel seen when watching this film.

Food 5% - We plan on getting food from local Caribbean vendors to support small businesses and eat good while we’re working!

Labour 45% - Majority of our budget goes towards Paying Cast and Crew. We are prioritizing having a BIPOC crew so it is very important that we are able to pay people their worth.

Location and Travel Expenses 5% - in order for us to keep the story as authentic as possible it’s important for us to shoot this film in Scarborough.

Equipment 15% - It’s cost money to look good :)

Post Production 15% - Acquiring the rights to the soca and reggae music that will be heard in the film is just one way we are prioritizing authenticity.

Insurance and Legal 5% - If we’re gonna make this film we’re gonna do it right!

Production expenses 3% - Storing footage, set dressing, printing ect

Perks:

$50 Digitally scanned personal hand written thank you card & BTS Photo

$100 Digitally scanned personal hand written thank you card, BTS Photo, & Special Thanks in the credits

$250 Digitally scanned personal hand written thank you card, BTS Photo, Special Thanks in the credits, & a Scarborough's Love Tote Bag

$500+ Digitally scanned personal hand written thank you card, BTS Photo, Special Thanks in the credits, Scarborough's Love Tote Bag & T-shirt