Patrick Vernon OBE and Natalie Barnes (daughter of the late Windrush campaigner Paulette Wilson) join forces with award-winning film producer and director Frances-Anne Solomon to launch the Inaugural Windrush Caribbean Film Festival. The evening with be hosted by educator and television presented Juliet Alexander.

Organisers of the UK’s first Windrush Caribbean Film Festival (WCFF) are thrilled to invite you to a virtual launch on Tuesday 29 September, 18:30 BST.  The event will offer a sneak peek at some of the exciting films in the festival schedule, that will run from 17 October – 8 November 2020. 

The six day digital festival of screenings, discussions and master classes aims to celebrate the contributions and impact of the Windrush generation on life in the UK today. The festival is the brainchild of Solomon whose award-winning film HERO, inspired by WW2 and Windrush hero Ulric Cross, toured the UK to critical acclaim in 2019. Its success was the inspiration for this full blown festival.

“As a child of the Windrush generation, I am passionate about sharing the stories and struggles of the men and women who paved the way for me and for all of us who are Black in Britain” said festival co-founder, Garry Stewart of Recognize Black Heritage and Culture. “Our partners from across the UK have worked tirelessly to turn a planned physical festival into a dynamic virtual event. “

WCFF is sponsored by Solomon’s Caribbean Tales Media Group and led by a core team including Stewart, Joy Coker of Alt-Africa Magazine as Lead Programmer, Shiloh PR’s Evadney Campbell and Patricia Hamzahee of Integriti Capital, with support from The Funding Network and Unison.

Festival 2020 will also see the launch of the first ‘Paulette Wilson’ Windrush Award to be given in memory of the prominent Windrush campaigner who was wrongly detained by the Home Office, and who went on to become the face of the Windrush Scandal campaign. The award will be presented to an individual who has been instrumental in advancing the narrative to achieve justice for the Windrush generation.

“We’re thrilled and I know my mother would be too, to have this prestigious award named after her,” said Natalie Barnes, Paulette’s daughter. “My mother was a humble woman but she was passionate about seeking justice for everyone caught up in the Windrush scandal. To see her honoured in this way is truly a wonderful legacy for her to have left.”

Over the six days of the Festival, audiences will watch films, engage in discussions, and participate in master classes, from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Each screening will be coupled with Q&A with major filmmakers, activists and actors. It is extremely timely says, Patrick Vernon OBE, Windrush campaigner and co-author of 100 Great Black Britons

“The timing of this festival in the context of the official recognition of Windrush Day and the ongoing plight of the victims of the Windrush Scandal is important to record, share and celebrate this history. The festival has the potential to promote this legacy.”

The Windrush Caribbean Film Festival 2020 focuses on themes which could not be more timely given the current climate around race immigration and social justice.

We look forward to welcoming you on 29 September.

Guyanese playwright, filmmaker, academic and director Michael Gilkes made significant contributions to the arts in the Caribbean, and earned a notable place in university circles in the West Indies, Guyana and the UK.

Michael Gilkes died, aged of 86, of the coronavirus in a hospital in London on the night of April 12, 2020. WCFF honours Gilkes by celebrating one of his many brilliant contributions to Caribbean culture.

Windrush Caribbean Film Festival is a UK-based Community Interest Company that aims to educate and inform audiences about the impact of the Windrush generation.

WCFF is co-produced with the CaribbeanTales Media Group and CaribbeanTales-TV.