THE drama, Diary of a Bad Man, received a standing ovation following its screening Wednesday at the Courtleigh Auditorium in St Andrew.

London-born director Diemiruaya Deniran and St Mary-born actress Jacinth Sutphin, who plays the lead role of undercover detective Simone Williams, attended the event which marked the second day of the Jamaica Film Festival.

Sutphin, who migrated to the United States in her early teens, was thrilled to return to Jamaica and show her worth as an actress.

“This is absolutely wonderful for me. This movie is really special as it gives me a chance to go back to my Jamaican roots. Being here and seeing that my Jamaican people have embraced the movie and my acting skills is a warm and lovely feeling,” she said.

Sutphin, 27, spent her early years with her grandmother in St Mary, but at age 13 migrated to Brooklyn, New York to live with her mother.

“My love for the arts grew, but my mother wasn’t interested in that. She wanted me to complete my academic studies which is the norm for any parent. During high school I did odd jobs at places like Starbucks and Popeye’s in order to take acting lessons,” she said.

While a student at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Sutphin said she appeared in a number of theatre productions.

Diary of a Bad Man is her feature film debut. It is the second for Deniran, whose previous film was the 2013 drama Reserve Notes.

– Simone Morgan