HERO Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr. Ulric Cross (2019)

HERO Inspired by the Extraordinary Life u0026 Times of Mr. Ulric Cross: Directed by Frances-Anne Solomon. With Nickolai Salcedo, Peter Williams, Joseph Marcell, John Dumelo. Inspired by the life and times of the Caribbean war hero, judge and diplomat Ulric Cross spanned key moments of the 20th Century like WW2, African independence movements and Black Power.

“u0026#39;Nothing, nothing is strange,n in the life of a mann bound for change.u0026#39;n (Leroy Calliste / Black Stalinn Calypso Monarch of Trinidad and Tobago)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;Herou0026#39; as a film is much more than a mere biopic. Its central story-line follows the career of Trini icon: Ulric Cross, over the course of a lifetime spent in the public domain. By the telling of his extraordinary tale, are the tales told of many and sundry others: people, places and countries. There is one scene in which Cross is in close quarters with two other Trini notables… author CLR James (played by Joseph Marcell) and activist George Padmore (played by Fraser James). Just an example of the distinguished company he kept. This epic triptych of revolutionists will spend the rest of their lives in the tedious but inescapable task of dismantling the monolithic edifices of colonialism, each in his own way.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Toronto audience, September 5, 2018, at the premier of u0026#39;Herou0026#39; were privileged to be first to view the real-life drama. It is the first film in over a decade from auteur Frances-Anne Solomon who has been deeply absorbed with the businesses of CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution. (Dare we say Domination?) And the CaribbeanTales Film Festival which is up and runningnnow in its thirteenth year.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJuggling several vintages of footage… black and white and colour, both period and filmed in present time, using stop-action photographs as punctuation, giving a family-album quality… Solomon achieves a patina-ed narrative, patchwork quilting vignettes that go from Belmont, Trinidad, to Britain then Ghana, Cameroon and Tanzania… the territories crisscrossed by Justice Ulric himself. From the Royal Air Force to the British Broadcasting Corporation to the newly formed nation-states of the aforementioned African countries… u0026#39;Justice was the rod and the staff that he wieldedu0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe docu-drama never once ventures into the dangerous territory of polemic, which would have been too easy. Instead, big picture issues like racism, classism, Eurocentricity, espionage, treachery, poisoning and assassination are ventilated through the lived experience of the characters in this high-stakes drama. Starting with the ninety-five-year-old Cross, frail of body but powerful of voice, the doc slips back and forth in time as Ulricu0026#39;s stream of consciousness flows from childhood in the colony to higher education in the u0026#39;Mother-Countryu0026#39;, to WW2 wartime service in the RAF as Navigator. u0026#39;Serviceu0026#39; along with u0026#39;Justiceu0026#39; were to be the bookends of his life and work. Legislative reform and the Rule of Law were his way in the world.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the title role, Nickolai Salcedo channels our u0026#39;Herou0026#39; with gravitas and equanimity, pretty much carrying the movie on his back. The timbre of his voice-over is the beating heart of the narration, grounding the air-borne exploits of our high-flyer. Here is a wide screen movie star of whose cheekbones the camera is enamoured. Having acquitted himself admirably in a number of supporting-actor parts, Salcedo slips into the patent leather shoes of this u0026quot;Herou0026quot; with ease and finesse.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePeter Williams, Jamaica born actor and star of u0026#39;A Winter Taleu0026#39; by Frances-Anne Solomon, plays the friend u0026#39;still working for Her Majestyu0026#39;s Governmentu0026#39;. Valerie Buhagiar (also of u0026#39;A Winter Taleu0026#39; fame) is the deadly MI6 operative, the CIA of the UK.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUlricu0026#39;s real-life wife (now in her nineties) is engaging and chipper on camera. The Ann Cross Hospital that she founded when in Cameroon out of her training as nurse is still functioning. Scenes of courtship, separation, marriage and domestic situations humanize other aspects of the public Ulric. The young Ann is portrayed with great sensitivity by Pippa Nixon. All the performances are powerful, the actors well invested in the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Many of them are well-known in Africa. John Welsmanu0026#39;s music underscores multiple moods and scenarios, and the bluesy u0026#39;rhapsoesu0026#39; of the Freetown Collective are most heartwarming.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor African Heritage Month, February 2019, screenings at branches of the Toronto Public Library can be looked forward to for general audiences. After playing as a flagship feature in the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, later in September 2018,nu0026#39;Herou0026#39; will take to the road on Festival circuits and in theatres… Africa, Europe, UK, USA. Frances-Anne has worked for both the BBC and Bravo Canada, so small-screen distribution could follow.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHopefully this u0026#39;Herou0026#39; will inspire the telling of many more inspirational tales of valor from the diaspora of the Caribbean Basin and the Americas.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enu0026#39;We must remember to tell the stories that we are told, that happened, that we hear from others, and how we come to think about things in the way that wendo. We can then understand more about ourselves and hold on to our place in the worldu0026#39;. n(The character u0026#39;Tourist Annieu0026#39;, from the play u0026#39;Red House fire! fire!u0026#39; by Trini Tony Hall).”