SCREEN 1 — MAIN AUDITORIUM

9:30 AM–11:29 AM

ROOTS, MEMORY & RESISTANCE

Short Stories of Culture, History, Faith & the Fight for Change

Individual Block Ticket: $30

From Bermuda to the United States, five short films explore the forces that shape communities across generations — cultural inheritance, racial history, faith, memory, policing and the continuing struggle for meaningful change.

Roots, Memory & Resistance moves between the political and the personal, connecting Bermuda’s cultural traditions and colonial history with stories of institutional reform and extraordinary moments preserved through collective memory.

PARADOX: ECHOES OF REFORM & THE MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

Director: Daniel Bergin
Country: United States
Genre: Documentary | Runtime: 57:00

Synopsis: Historian Yohuru Williams examines more than a century of attempts to reform policing in Minneapolis, tracing the relationship between politics, community activism and institutional resistance and providing historical context for the circumstances leading to the murder of George Floyd. 

BERMUDA RIOTS ARE DIFFERENT

Directors: Alyson Thompson & Matt Mead
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Documentary Short | Runtime: 6:00

Synopsis: Through archival Black Bermudian voices, Bermuda Riots Are Different revisits a decade of racial unrest from 1968 to 1977 and examines Bermuda’s distinctive colonial relationship with Britain and the United States. 

THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS 

Director: Marquedelle Philip Rodriguez
Country: Bermuda
Genre: Narrative Short | Runtime: 6:00

Synopsis: A young Bermudian Gombey encounters his ancestors in a mystical and poetic journey through Bermuda’s Gombey culture, connecting contemporary cultural expression with the generations and traditions that came before. 

DECODING THOUGHTS

Director: Marquedelle Philip Rodriguez
Country: Bermuda
Genre: Documentary Short | Runtime: 10:00

Synopsis: Go behind the scenes of Thoughts Become Things and meet the creative team, artists, culture-bearers and Gombey captains whose knowledge and experiences shaped the film’s celebration of Bermuda’s Gombey tradition. 

THE SIGHT UNSEEN

Director: Shawn Antoine II
Country: United States
Genre: Hybrid Documentary Short / Student Film | Runtime: 39:36

Synopsis: The Sight Unseen revisits an extraordinary event in the Bronx in 1971, when six-year-old Sharon Wilson discovered a glowing cross in her apartment bathroom window. More than five decades later, Sharon’s memories are interwoven with archival research, reenactments and contemporary reflection in an evocative exploration of faith, uncertainty and the ways extraordinary histories survive. 

Included in the Saturday Day Pass and BBFW All Access Festival Pass.

11:32–11:52 AM

SHORTS FILMMAKER CONVERSATION

Culture • Memory • Bermuda Stories

Following the morning shorts programme, join Bermudian filmmakers and cultural storytellers for a brief conversation about filmmaking, cultural memory and bringing Bermuda’s stories to the screen.

Featuring the filmmaker behind Thoughts Become Things and participating Bermudian shorts filmmakers.

No separate ticket required. Included with the 9:30 AM screening block.