UNITED States-based film-maker Diemiruaye Deniran is currently in the island to showcase his movie Diary of a Badman, at the Courtleigh Auditorium in St Andrew, tonight at 7:00.

The film is part of Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s (JAMPRO) Jamaica Film Festival, which began yesterday and is scheduled to end on Saturday.

Diary of a Badman, an hour and 50 minutes, was filmed in sections of New York and New Jersey. The plot surrounds Detective Simone Williams, a Jamaican immigrant to the US, who dreams of working undercover on a high-profile case. She finally gets her chance in an attempt to catch a notorious drug dealer Winston ‘Bucky’ Bailey. She, however, falls victim to his charming personality.

Speaking about his film, Deniran calls it a ‘Cleopatra Jones meets Donnie Brasco’ and much more.

“What makes the film so unique is that it gives the outlook on the entire undercover cop movie in a revitalising way by flipping the script from the cliché male cop role by having a female play the role. Women of African descent usually don’t acquire these opportunities; with Diary Of A Bad Man it changes that status quo,” he said.

The film-maker believes not every critic will readily understand and accept the movie’s plot.

“This is art and there are many ways to tell a story. You will be blown away because in the film, you get to see the bad guy in a different light. You, however, may not agree with his ways of achieving his goals but you will understand and may eventually agree to his cause of actions,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The film consists of 11 cast members: Jacinth Sutphin, who was born in St Mary and plays Simone Williams; Douglas A Robbs plays Bucky; Michael Thor Love is cast in the role of Sargent Putkowski. Other cast members include Kyle Moore, LaTonya Grant, Levar Dawkins, Richard Bird, TJ Thomas, Kellen Wingate, JamekGrigg and Robert Murray.

Diary of a Badman is the director’s second feature film. His first was titled Reserved in 2014.

Deniran, 42, was born in London but relocated to New York in 1996.

“I loved the camera as a child growing up and by the age of 10, I was practising at my home,” the self-taught film-maker explained.

In 2010, Deniran released his first short film called Kush. This was followed by other mini productions such as Soul Remover and Transaction.