30 Jul The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders to Screen at National Association of Black Journalists Convention
Renowned author and journalist Peter Bailey will screen Paradise Discovered: The Unbreakable Virgin Islanders” at this year’s annual National Association of Black Journalists Convention to be held in Miami from August 7 -11. In the riveting documentary, based on Bailey’s New York Times Op Ed “Has America Forgotten the Virgin Islands”, he and other US Virgin Islanders reflect on surviving both hurricanes Irma and Maria on his native St. Thomas.
Bailey famously wrote the Times’ piece while building a makeshift roof and has become a national figure throughout the Caribbean for his journalistic efforts after the storms for criticizing the US government’s handling of the islands’ recovery and neglect from mainstream media.
“We’re now historical figures,” says Bailey. “It’s time for the world to understand that the people in these islands are as magical as the scenery.” A community “where the people took care of each other” as described in this inspiring documentary, the Virgin Islands is an enchanting US territory on the verge of reinventing its story in the wake of tragedy after being the only place in modern history to be hit by two category 5 hurricanes in less than two weeks.
The screening is being done in partnership with the USVI Department of Tourism.
“Peter Bailey is a talented Virgin Islands’ Ambassador who has taken tragedy and transformed it into a human victory,” said USVI Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte. “His artistic videography has captured a redefining moment in Virgin Islands history, while promoting our destination globally. It is an honor to endorse his creative vision.”
From Bailey’s 76 year-old mother’s defiant prayers, to former Governor Kenneth Mapp advocating to President Trump and high schooler Indira Labone’s compassion for her classmates alongside Olympian boxer Julius Jackson cooking up dishes to serve the community, Unbreakable celebrates the unconquerable spirit of the US Virgin Islands community, America’s sole black majority territory. In one gripping scene Anique Thomas-Harrigan’s relives losing her husband Ishmael “Tarik” Harrigan, a high school classmate of Bailey’s. The first film from his Paradise Discovered series – The Anguilla Connection – premiered in July on the island of Anguilla, his mother’s homeland.
“This film demonstrates how vulnerability and insecurity caused by natural disasters can quickly be transformed into possibilities of hope and connections,” says Dr. Hollis France, chair of the political science department at the College of Charleston where Unbreakable screened in June.
A former reporter at Time, Newsweek and The Miami Herald, Bailey says he’s looking forward to reuniting with former colleagues at the NABJ Convention.
The screening marks the 15th stop on a nationwide tour that began in St. Thomas on September 16, the day after Bailey’s father Joseph Bailey who the film is dedicated to was laid to rest. Unbreakable has already garnered critical acclaim at Brown University, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, University of Delaware, the College of Charleston and other places it’s been screened and was recently named an official selection for the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. Associated Press writer and frequent MSNBC contributor Errin Haines Whack will host a Q & A discussion after the film.
The advance screening done in partnership with the USVI Department of Tourism will take place on August 10th at 11:30 to 1:30 pm at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura. Please rsvp to [email protected]
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