KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican-Bulgarian director and writer Ina Sotirova has made national film history with her short film Stinky Mango, which won best cast at the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase— a first for Jamaican cinema.

Set in Jamaica but resonating far beyond its shores, Stinky Mango is a soul-stirring meditation on masculinity and emotions, challenging the prevalent local adage, “big man nuh cry”. The film was inspired by a focus group of Jamaican men. The men were invited to draw their emotions inside the shape of a mango. Dark spots on the otherwise ripe mango symbolised unaddressed emotional wounds.

Its cast includes Jamaican actor Sheldon Shepherd, Danielle McNish, Menackem Wilmot, instrumentalist Andre France, and drummer Jesse Golding.

In the film, the mango is a potent visual metaphor for the decaying internal world of a grieving father who has lost his wife and the mother of his child. Emotionally paralysed, he stumbles through fatherhood. Haunted by his wife’s ghost, he is gently urged to face his grief, but he resists. In the climax, he collapses drunk on the floor, leaving his teenage son to care for him.

This is not the Jamaica usually shown on screen. Stinky Mango dares to show Black Caribbean men at their most fragile, leading with a female gaze on masculinity.

Behind the scenes, Ina Sotirova, Joan Webley and Tashara-Lee Johnson were femme filmmakers, collaborating with veteran thespian Sheldon Shepherd. They overcame the pains of indie filmmaking, tight budgets and a small production team with finesse, releasing a world-class production.

Cinematographer Gabrielle Blackwood’s award-winning lens captured everything from the glow of mango flesh to the hush of moonlight over the Blue Mountains and the glistening shimmer of dark and lovely skin tones. Sound designer Tamara Montenegro’s immersive soundscape mirrored the mystique of the Blue Mountains.

The film was nominated in four major categories— best director, best cinematography, best original song, and best cast.