Lead actress in 'Hush', Mikisha, talks to God outside her home. - contributed photos

Jamaica-born scriptwriter Marcia Weekes plans to make a big bang with her Barbados-made film Hush.

The film - also co-directed by Weekes, who lives in Barbados - looks at issues facing young people, such as sex, proper condom use, peer pressure, abortion-parenting skills and faith.

Weekes said the film is scheduled to be shown in Jamaica at various high schools for three weeks, starting tomorrow.

She said the movie took five months to complete and had a cost of BDS$15,000 (J$530,000). She added that the money was borrowed and the tab did not include the cast as they donated their time.

Hush was shown in 18 secondary school in Barbados over the last five weeks. Weekes believes it will have similar impact in Jamaica.

"I really feel that the issues that the film deals with are common throughout the region," said the past student of

St Andrew High and York College in New York.

"As a Jamaican, I wanted it to be shown in Jamaica so that the people can experience the same impact," continued the mother of three.

'Hush' tells the story of a teenage girl - Mikisha - who is raised in a single parent household and has carved her own path to success. She is three months away from taking her Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and is rock-solid in her faith. However, Mikisha's life has taken some bad turns, and she is faced with a momentous choice which could either take her off course or put her life back on track.

Weekes is convinced that the film is likely to create the same level of discussion in Jamaica as it did in Barbados.

"It has helped to open discussions between parents and children. A lot of families were watching. We even had more non-Christians than Christians watching because it was more real than even the church," she said.

Weekes did not say what schools Hush will be shown, or how long it will be here.

"We are not sure how long it will be in Jamaica. In Barbados it did really really great. Because it's a local film they didn't know much about us and they were really sceptical. We were only going to show for a week but that turned into five weeks," Weekes told The Gleaner.

"It's the first bootleg local movie. Everybody is selling it on the streets. It has brought a real sense of pride to Barbadians because they see themselves on the screen."

Marcia Weekes, writer and co-director of 'Hush'.