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February 09, 2005
Film to focus on Denmark's colonial past in V.I. By AESHA DUVAL
From the Daily News:
ST. CROIX - A documentary film on the shared history of Denmark and the Virgin Islands is in the works, and local historians and experts are expected to play a major role in providing content for the film.
Dutch filmmaker and screenwriter Anker Li is on St. Croix to scout filming locations, conduct research and compile a list of V.I. history experts to interview for the film.
Li said the documentary will tell the story of Denmark's colonial past from the Virgin Islander's point of view and explore the effects of slavery and colonization on the Danish West Indies. The Virgin Islands and Denmark share more than 180 years of history; the islands were under Denmark's rule from 1733 to 1917.
Until now, Li said, most historical accounts of St. Croix and Dutch influences have been based on European views and may have left out details about what life was like for slaves.
"I saw the value of a documentary that relies on the voices and the viewpoints of the Caribbean people," Li said Monday.
Li said the goal of the film will be to enhance the relationship and understanding between Dutch people and Virgin Islanders.
"Our hope is to bridge the past and the present between the Virgin Islands and Denmark," Li said. "In Denmark, much of this period of colonial ruling in the islands is very subdued and is not commonly taught in schools or mentioned in history books. The purpose of this is to bring back the knowledge of what happened in the past. If you are not aware of that, you are missing important tools that can guide you into the future."
One of Li's interviews will be with Shelley Moorhead, chairman and founder of the African-Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance.
The alliance is a diverse and broad-based group of international organizations that advocates reparations for crimes against Caribbean people.
The group sponsored round table discussions in November that were aimed at developing legislation to establish a commission to study the possibility of reparations for Virgin Islanders.
Moorhead said the group decided to hold the discussions after "looking at the deplorable state of our society and all the social ills that plague us - a result of slavery and colonization."
Posted by afinta at February 9, 2005 10:45 PM
