Funding sought for ‘Hero’ in London
Film on the life of Ulric Cross
FUNDING IS needed for a film that is set to immortalise one of Trinidad and Tobago’s national heroes, Ulric Cross.
The launch of the UK production arm of the film Hero, which portrays the life of World War II fighter pilot, judge and diplomat Cross, was held at the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London on June 12 and was described by former head of the BBC Caribbean Service Debbie Ransome, who attended the launch, as “a very Trini gathering”.
Ransome said the film already has two-thirds of its funding, with Republic Bank as one of the main sponsors of Hero, but producers are seeking help to film the final parts in Britain and, if funding allows, in Africa.
“Many offered help, networking and support, while all were asked to ‘spread the word’ and do what they could,” said Ransome under the posting, ‘Caribbean Intelligence’.
“General manager Karen Yip-Chuck said the film would show where we came from so we will know where we’re going.”
Ransome, who spoke of her meetings and interactions with Cross over the years, first in his capacity as judge and later on as the High Commissioner to the UK, said the launch attracted a wide range of people from all walks of life.
“So it was hardly surprising that others, with even closer memories of Ulric Cross’s packed life, should be keen to support the magic of a film about him. They were standing in the aisles, which doesn’t happen at your usual embassy news conference,” Ransome said.
Hero is being directed and produced by Trinidadian Frances-Anne Solomon, who explained to her audience that this was an “important story for our children to know”, as it spanned not only 1930s and 1940s Trinidad, but also the West Indian experience in World War II, Caribbean contributions to newly post-independence Africa, and the development of modern Caribbean diplomacy, Ransome reported.
Solomon also used the opportunity to outline Cross’s life from his early days at St Mary’s College in Port of Spain, as well as his work in Ghana one month after that West African country gained its independence where he worked as a senior counsel and lecturer, then as an attorney general of West Cameroon. He later started the law school and industrial court in Tanzania.
“After this, he returned to a distinguished legal career in Trinidad, both as High Court judge and Appeal Court judge, before becoming Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner to London in the 1990s.”
Now retired, he lives in Port of Spain.
“It’s a joy for me to tell this story,” Solomon told the gathering in London. “Veteran Trinidadian actor Rudolph Walker, best known for his roles in 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour and current BBC soap Neighbours, is the UK patron for Hero and also spoke about the importance of the film.
So did Cross’ nephew, Felix Cross, who reminisced about his uncle’s “innate sense of fairness” and how his life mirrored the post-war life of Trinidad.
Walker pointed out that if a film like this could be shown to young people, they “would walk ten feet tall”, said Ransome.
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