18 Aug NiteCap Journal: The Film ‘The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders’ to Debut on St. Thomas

Songstress, Indira, Ivanna Eudora Kean graduating senior class of 2018

While deciding with my team on a date and place to debut the film “The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders” we collectively decided that St. Thomas would have to be first. My beloved home couldn’t take a back seat to Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, New York and Delaware where we also plan to host screenings.

Local Poet, Yohan and his family

 However, deciding on a date was challenging. Then I realized that with my birthday coming up my community has already given me a gift. The inspiration I’ve gained from watching us uplift each other while literally weathering life’s greatest storms has forever transformed my life. We made history.

It’s why I’ve decided to show this film, our collective story of overcoming tragedy to usher in a new Virgin Islands, on my birthday September 16th. Yes, we have our issues like any other society struggling to reinvent itself in this new Information Age, but I’m sure we’ll overcome our hurdles.

Governor Kenneth Mapp and Peter Bailey

The voices amplified in the film represent a cross section of Virgin Islands’ society. From my 75 year-old mother’s defiant prayers, to Governor Kenneth Mapp advocating on our behalf to President Trump and high schooler Indira’s compassion for her classmates alongside Julius Jackson and my high school classmate Nathaniel Phillips cooking up dishes to serve the community, our NiteCap Media team sought to capture the beauty from this historic event in our islands’ story. The story of Anique Thomas-Harrigan who lost her husband Ishmael “Tarik” Harrigan is heart wrenching yet her strength is inspiring.

Anique Thomas-Harrigan and son

I decided to further immortalize the people I wrote about in my New York Times Op Ed Has America Forgotten the Virgin Islands? and CBS interviews. We debuted The Anguilla Connection, the first film from our Paradise Discovered series, capturing the stories of Caribbean hurricane survivors, in July on the island of Anguilla, my mother’s homeland. 

On my birthday last year I was at a distribution center with my neighbor Tony and local journalist Kelsey, both featured in the film, stocking goods to distribute to the community while I myself dealt with losing a roof and existing without electricity for 93 days.

Local Boxer and Chef, Julius Jackson

The next day I was walking on rafters, trying to maintain my balance with Robert Buckmire, hurrying to build the best makeshift roof as hurricane Maria approached. In the last graph of this piece Paradise Lost which I actually finished writing before Maria arrived I elude to it being possibly the last thing I ever write. In all honestly I didn’t believe I would have lived to share this story, but since God saw it fit to keep me here I plan on making sure what we the unbreakable Virgin Islanders accomplished is never forgotten.

The advance screening of “Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders”, done in partnership with The Rotary Club of St. Thomas II, will take place at Prior-Jollek Hall located on the campus of Antilles School. Their will be a media mixer beginning at 7 pm followed by the movie which begins at 8 pm. The event is free and open to the public. Please rsvp to [email protected] as seating is limited.