25 May Peter Bailey to give keynote address at St. Martin Book Fair and Screen ‘The Anguilla Connection’

When “Paradise Discovered: The Anguilla Connection” premiered at the Sunshine Theater in Anguilla back in July the event was intimate affair that turned into a birthday celebration and homecoming for Anita Bailey, the film producer’s 75 year-old mother.

It was Bailey’s first time in her native Anguilla in nearly a decade as well as the first event at the Sunshine Theater since being destroyed by hurricane Irma. The event launched a nationwide movement spearheaded by her son, award-winning author and journalist Peter Bailey who’s since crisscrossed America screening his Paradise Discovered series while advocating for the recovery of his native US Virgin Islands, Anguilla and rest of the Eastern Caribbean in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Now Bailey has been tapped to serve as the keynote speaker at this year’s St. Martin Book Fair where he will also host a special screening of “The Anguilla Connection.”

“The screening of the film Paradise Discovered: The Anguilla Connection is adding to the ongoing discussion centered on the 17th Annual St. Martin Book Fair, under the theme ‘New Grounds’, said Shujah Reiph co-founder for the Book Fair. “As we seek to rebuild these Caribbean islands in a sustainable fashion this discussion is essential for the future.”

The Paradise Discovered series is based on Bailey’s New York Times’ Op Ed “Has America Forgotten the Virgin Islands” which he wrote while building a makeshift roof after surviving both hurricanes Irma and Maria on his native St. Thomas after his family’s home was destroyed. The series’ second offering, “The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders”, is garnering critical acclaim nationwide with screenings at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, University of Delaware, University of South Florida, the College of Charleston and most recently prestigious Brown University.

Bailey says he’s looking forward to heading to St. Martin, the sister island to Anguilla where his historic journey began. The intrepid journalist plans to meet several relatives who reside in Belverdere for the first time.

“My mother’s struggles and what she overcame is a constant source of inspiration so I wanted to come to understand the people and place that made her,” says Bailey. “Getting to know the Anguillian community and my family there has changed my life.”

The film screening will begin at 7:30 pm on June 3 at the John Larmonie Center in Philipsburg, St. Martin and is free and open to the public. Visit
http://houseofnehesipublish.com/sxm/st-martin-book-fair/ to view the full schedule of the Book Fair.

Watch the official trailer for “Paradise Discovered: The Anguilla Connection”: