When “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders” made its US mainland debut at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts back in October, it marked the first time a chapter in Virgin Islands history was showcased at the nation’s most prestigious film school.

Now the film – based on Peter Bailey’s much celebrated New York Times Op Ed “Has American Forgotten the Virgin Islands” – returns to Hollywood as an official selection of the Indie Night Film Festival at the world famous TCL Chinese Theater located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“I felt it was high time our fellow Americans and larger society get to know the people of the Virgin Islands and Caribbean beyond a vacation,” says the film’s producer Peter Bailey. The Anguilla Connection, the first film from the Paradise Discovered series, premiered on the island of Anguilla in July of last year.

Unbreakable captures Bailey and a cross-section of other Virgin Islanders retelling harrowing tales of surviving hurricanes Irma and Maria. Bailey, a former staff writer at Time and Newsweek well known for his “NiteCap” conversation series wrote the Op Ed while building a make-shift roof after hurricane Irma destroyed his family’s home.

This upcoming showing at Indie Fest is part of a nationwide tour to advocate for the ongoing recovery of the embattled islands that were largely ignored by the US media and federal government although being the only place in modern history to be struck by two category 5 hurricanes in less than two weeks. The sole majority black US territory was overshadowed by its island neighbor Puerto Rico which was only hit by hurricane Maria.

For years US Virgin Islanders, Puerto Ricans and other residents of America’s territories have been frustrated with what they call second-class citizenship which denies them the right to vote for President of the United States.

President Donald Trump furthered this angst by his now infamous referral to then USVI Governor Kenneth Mapp as “President of the Virgin Islands”.

Mapp is also featured in Unbreakable.

Virgin Islanders discuss surviving trauma at a recent screening of “Unbreakable” at the University of the Virgin Islands.

“This is a time of rebirth in the Virgin Islands,” says Anique Thomas-Harrigan, whose husband Tariq “Ishme” Harrigan was killed during Hurricane Irma and is featured in the film.

US Virgin Islands Senator Donna Frett-Gregory calls Unbreakable necessary to the islands’ healing process.

“A lot of our children here in the Virgin Islands is suffering from PTSD from these storms. This film is a perfect opportunity for us to share with our schools so we can talk about what we feel,” says Frett-Gregory.

Indie Night Film Festival, founded by Dave Brown, an entertainment executive and business partner of Jamie Foxx showcases the work of both emerging and established artists.

Emmy-winning casting director Robi Reed, film director Lee Daniels and Hollywood leading man Morris Chestnut are among the many A-listers who’ve graced the Indie Night stage.

“As an independent creator I think what Dave has orchestrated to amplify alternative voices beyond the Hollywood norm is revolutionary,” says Bailey. “Unbreakable is more than a film. It’s the catalyst driving a human rights campaign and Indie Fest is now a part of this campaign.”

After Indie Night, the tour heads to the University of South Florida in Tampa on February 5 to be screened as the featured presentation at the college’s annual Institute on Black Life Conference.

Veteran actor Morris Chestnut talks surviving Hollywood at Indie Night Film Festival