Coinciding with the Windrush Day anniversaries taking place in London this month, Hero: Inspired By The Extraordinary Life & Times Of Mr. Ulric Cross kicked off a series of screenings in the city last weekend. As part of their tour the events come complete with a Q&A with director Francis-Anne Solomon and a rotating cast including actor Rudolph Walker and actress Pippa Nixon.
It was one of these nights, hosted by Eddie Nestor of the BBC that prompted the following public service announcement.
Sorry people it is with deep regret that I must inform you that the BBC is dead. Okay, we are thankful of Mr. Nestor on drive time and few other things that slip through the cracks. But none of us taking our seats in Stratford East cinema could/should/would still believe that BBC is interested in relevant films like HERO?
If so (back to Mr. Nestor) when’s the BBC re-run of the iconic Real McCoy scheduled to edu-tain the youth and seniors of today?
Why would anyone believe that the BBC cares about an episode of HERO when at the same juncture (Government led) the said BBC are willing to mug a million pensioners in public view for a TV licence – what’s that all about? Those wishing to put forward the case for an extended educational strand starting with support for HERO – Mr Tony Hall, BBC Director General and Editor in Chief Director, awaits your pressure applied: tony.hall@bbc.co.uk
We as the public own the BBC yet continue to settle for second best. It is more obvious after watching the well-produced HERO that the audience is buzzed with ideas and enthusiasm because they are not used to seeing themselves on the big screen uncompromised or watered down. What was seen with HERO is regardless of budgets or lack of it, the million per cent craft of Frances-Anne Soloman and her team was unquestionable, as the film would not have taken 2 minutes to cook, especially with all that amazing archive footage often not witnessed, locked away.
If again the audiences experienced really want to assist the young in HERO education, let’s start by having the young speak for themselves at Q&As, so we get it source direct on what the young actually think.
Let’s always talk in Q&As but more so link with the likes of Frances-Anne Soloman directly on ways to further push the envelope.
If we the audience are serious supporting this HERO World Tour screenings let’s start by individually sponsoring a youngster to experience the film at the 50 incoming screenings organised for September 2019 and beyond.
And why don’t we the audience make those 50 screenings actually 100 screenings?
If speaking seriously – why has it taken HERO to reignite the conversation?
This talk and celebration of HERO and all associated is more about HERO always being on the same bill as a Toy Story 4 at any cinema of choosing……….
Salute to Frances-Anne Soloman and all audience members taking timeout to support a HERO and a SHERO.
P.S. I’d rather write to Eddie Nestor than the BBC
P.P.S. Shout out to Robbie Gee
If you’re familiar with the film skip right to the bottom to hear some audio from a Q&A with the filmmaker. Alternatively, it’s worth spending a bit of time to watch the trailer, then get along to a screening to fully understand the impact it’s having in the wake of its viewings.
Hero tells the story of Ulric Cross, a Trinidadian trailblazer who made his mark in history flying fighter planes in World War II to become possibly the most decorated West Indian Airman. During a time when racism placed roadblocks in the way of people of African descent, Cross broke down barriers to become a BBC broadcaster, a lawyer, a judge and a diplomat. He played a central role in the independence struggles of both Africa and the Caribbean. Hero tells a story that intertwines archival footage and dramatization.
As an archivist at heart the biopic format making use of archival footage draws me right in and captivates me. It’s not an easy format to choose to tell such a remarkable story but despite being the more difficult road was absolutely the right choice.
Hero was initially funded with money raised by Solomon’s mother, who had been asked by a family friend on his deathbed to make a movie about Ulric. I daresay Solomon has carried out those wishes alongside her mother above and beyond.
Solomon is a talented storyteller with a seemingly dedicated mindset to share the aspects of not only her Trinidadian heritage but ‘black history’ as part of a movement to ensure the stories are heard. As you’ll pickup from the audio at the bottom this is something that we need more of.
Originally we’d had about an hour of Q&A from the Stratford East viewing with Solomon and Walker hosted by Eddie Nestor. The audio was so damaged that we felt we couldn’t share it. Luckily we sourced another recording from the Peckham Plex screening with Solomon, actress Pippa Nixon and local filmmaker Adeyemi Michael who had had his own short film Entitled screened that night. The audio is shaky at best but the message is in there.