LONDON – The life and times of Trinidadian war hero, judge and diplomat, Ulric Cross, will be portrayed in a new film – HERO to be screened at the British Film Institute, Southbank, London on May 18, 2019.
The feature film, produced by former UK resident, Frances-Anne Solomon, has already received international acclaim at its screenings in Trinidad and Tobago and Canada. (not the US yet).
The story told is of Cross, a trailblazer who made his mark on history as a Navigator of fighter planes in World War II. He became one of the RAF’s most decorated West Indian Airmen. He then went on to play a central role in the independence struggles of both Africa and the Caribbean.
“Ultimately, the story is about us. About who we are as Caribbean people and as citizens of the world,” says filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon. “In that spirit, we’re thrilled to be bringing HERO to the UK where much of the filming took place. It is particularly poignant that this year is the seventy-fifth anniversary of the first major generation of Caribbean arrivals in Britain — on the Empire Windrush.”
Filmed across the UK, Trinidad, Ghana, and Canada, HERO features a host of celebrated British actors including Joseph Marcell of Fresh Prince of Bel Air fame, playing the role of writer CLR James; Fraser James, of Terminator Salvation, playing the role of George Padmore and British-Nigerian actor Jimmy Akingbola, of BBC’s Holby, playing Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah.
Following its premier at the BFI Southbank, HERO will be taken across the UK in the lead up to the 75th Windrush celebrations in June.
Filmed in Trinidad, Ghana, the UK and Canada, HERO is the story of Ulric Cross, who in 1941, left his small island to seek his fortune, and became the Royal Air Force’s most decorated West Indian. Then his life took a dramatically different course when he followed the call of history. He joined the African independence movements sweeping the world in the 50s and 60s.
