CaribPR Wire

The Wonder Years Star is in discussions to play Jamaican-Canadian Community worker Harry Gairey

For Immediate Release

CaribPRWire, Toronto, Canada, Thurs. Nov. 11, 2021: Casting is underway for In the Black and popular American actor Richard Gant has been attached to the project to play the role of Jamaican-born Harry Gairey. Produced by CaribbeanTales Media Group and directed by Caribbean-Canadian Frances-Anne Solomon, the feature film is an adaptation of entrepreneur and activist Jamaican-Canadian Denham Jolly’s memoir of the same name.

In the newly re-imagined The Wonder Years (ABC), Gant guest stars as Granddaddy Clisby – the latest role for the 77-year-old actor who also plays grumpy Walter on CBS’s The Neighborhood. The veteran actor is known for his roles on Greenleaf (Percy Lee), The Mindy Project (Melville Fuller), Men of a Certain Age (Owen Thoreau, Sr.), General Hospital and NYPD Blue.

“I met Richard last year in Los Angeles at the premiere of Hero at the Director’s Guild of America Theater,” recalls Solomon. “So, when I was thinking about who would be the perfect actor to play the role of the legendary Harry Gairey, a Jamaican-born community leader and activist who worked as a railroad porter, Richard’s commanding presence and booming voice instantly came to mind. He will be phenomenal!”

In the Black focuses on Jolly’s journey from Jamaica to Canada, the enormous influence Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey had on his life as well as Jolly’s fight to secure a license for a Black-owned Toronto radio station, Flow 93.5.

The film has received support from the Harold Greenberg Fund and Telefilm Canada. Producer Nicole Brooks has also recently signed onto the project. Brooks’ production work began with Frances-Anne as story editor for Lord Have Mercy (Vision TV/Showcase/APTN/Toronto One) and she has gone on to create and produce several critically acclaimed and groundbreaking television and theatre productions including Echo (SunTV), Divine Restoration (Vision TV/ TVOne), Obeah Opera and executive produced CaribbeanTales’ slate of international pilots through its flagship Incubator Training Program. Also on board are writer Andrew Burrow-Trotman - The Porter (CBC) Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC) Utopia Falls (CBC/Hulu), Diggstown (CBC) and development executive Jamie Gaetz. Solomon’s recent feature film, Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross is now available on Showtime, Prime Video, Hulu and Cineplex Store.

Media Contact: Fennella Bruce | 647.290.7610 | [email protected]

CaribbeanTales Media Group (CTMG) is a multi-faceted group of media companies that produces, markets, and sells culturally diverse film and television content from the Caribbean and its wide Diaspora.  Founded by award-winning filmmaker and Academy Member Frances-Anne Solomon, CTMG includes: CaribbeanTales Inc, a registered Canadian Charity, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, a film distribution entity, CaribbeanTales International Film Festival; Caribbeantales-TV, a VOD streaming service; the Creatives of Colour Incubator, a year-round development and production hub, and CaribbeanTalesFlix, our production arm.

PHOTOS:

Actor Richard Gant, l, and CaribbeanTales Media Group founder and director  Caribbean Canadian Frances-Anne Solomon. (Photo courtesy of Caju Creative)

Actor Richard Gant (Courtesy: richardgant.com)

Director Frances-Anne Solomon’s Award-Winning Feature Film will be streaming in Canada, the US and the UK from May 21st

For Immediate Release

CaribPR Wire, TORONTO, Canada, Fri. May 21, 2021: HERO, the film inspired by the extraordinary life of Caribbean-born Mr. Ulric Cross, will be available exclusively in Canada on Premium VOD in the Cineplex Store and Prime Video in the U.S. and U.K on May 21^st, 2021.

HERO opened to rave reviews at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Canada and played in cinemas across the UK on a 40 City tour covering England, Scotland and Wales prior to the pandemic. Following this successful tour, HERO went on to win multiple awards and was the Opening Night feature film for the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

HERO stars Trinidad’s Nickolai Salcedo in the title role, Peter Williams (Stargate SG1), Joseph Marcell (FreshPrince of Bel Air), Jimmy Akinbola (Holby City) and Ghanaian superstars John Dumelo, Adjetey Anang and Prince David Oseia.

Film and television industry pioneer, Frances-Anne Solomon has expertly lifted the lid on one of many untold stories of notable Caribbean professionals who made it their life’s mission to foster African independence. Film critic Mike McCahill of The Guardian called Hero, “Stimulating and provocative – filmed history to prompt debate.”

“It’s exciting to know that Ulric’s remarkable life will be shared on a global scale,” said Solomon.

Watch the official HERO trailer (33s)

STREAM NOW:

Amazon Prime UK:https://amzn.to/3bCX2gn

Amazon Prime US: https://amzn.to/3u2PXw7

Showtime U.S.: https://s.sho.com/3wj8GFg

Cineplex Canada: https://cinplx.co/3wnpAm9

PROMOTIONAL IMAGES AVAILABLE HERE AND HERE

*Note to editor: HERO is also available in the U.S on Showtime’s specialty channel Sho Next and its streaming platform Showtime On Demand.

Media Contact: Fennella Bruce | 647.290.7610 | [email protected]

For UK inquires: Evadney Campbell | 07716 289 717 | [email protected]

For Trinidad inquiries: Wendell Bompart |[email protected]

For screener requests and publicity materials, please contact: [email protected]

Twitter: Hero_Film Instagram: hero_film Facebook: HERO4ALLTIME Web: www.heroulriccross.com

CaribbeanTales Media Group

CaribbeanTales Media Group (CTMG), is a multi-faceted group of media companies that produces, market, and sells culturally diverse film and television content from the Caribbean and its wide Diaspora.

Imagine Media

Imagine Media International Limited is an award-winning, full-service, production Company, based in Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa. Founded by award-winning, Producer-Director & Media Personality Lisa Wickham, the Company creates content across all media platforms.

Republic Bank

Headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) is the registered owner of all of the banks in the Republic Group – Republic Bank Limited, Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited, Republic Bank (Grenada) Limited, Republic Bank (Suriname) N.V., and Republic Bank (Ghana) Limited, as well as Republic Securities Limited and other subsidiaries.

Capital Motion Picture Group

Capital Motion Picture Group is a distributor of world-class entertainment to audiences around the globe. As part of its diverse offering of independent cinema, Capital Motion aims to both entertain and engage with audiences with an appetite for discovery.

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ – Soulidifly Productions, a film company with a mission to produce meaningful, uplifting stories that are entertaining and beautifully told, has partnered with TRIAL X FIRE, LLC, the distribution branch of Urban Home Entertainment, to release Joseph to audiences everywhere on video-on-demand starting December 24, 2020, on Amazon Prime and Vimeo.

“Joseph will bring viewers a deeper understanding of how the search for truth can be healing, especially during times of social and political unrest,” said BK Fulton, founding chairman and CEO, Soulidifly Productions. “This film aligns with 2019’s ‘Year of Return’ and the ‘Decade of Return’ currently being expressed by African leaders and global influencers as more people search for answers in the present by looking to clues from the past.”

Winner of the 2020 “Best Diaspora Narrative Feature” award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, Joseph was shot on location in Ghana, Jamaica and Barbados and produced by Step by Step Productions with assistance from Soulidifly Productions. Joseph is a dramatic feature film about Joseph King, a young Jamaican doctor with a burning desire to re-connect to his family’s roots with the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. The quest to “go home” creates family conflict. Joseph’s curiosity about Africa is fueled even more by a friend from medical school, who would boast about his homeland Ghana. His stories contradict with what Joseph hears and sees about Africa in the media. A serious tragedy, a chance meeting and an unfulfilled promise drive Joseph towards an uncertain destiny.

Access trailer: https://www.soulidifly.com/joseph

Joseph has been endorsed and supported by the Governments of Ghana, Jamaica and Barbados and was included in the Ghana Tourism Authority’s “Year Of Return.” The film was released theatrically in Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, and in the U.S. in select AMC theaters earlier this year.

Directed by Marcia Weekes and co-written by Weekes and Delphine Itambi from the Republic of Cameroon, the film includes Caribbean/African actors and artists.

About Soulidifly Productions
Founded in 2017, Soulidifly tells the stories of multiethnic, multigenerational people across various segments of life, experiences and eras. https://www.soulidifly.com/

About Trial X Fire, LLC
A distribution brand of Urban Home Entertainment, TRIAL X FIRE, LLC (TXF) is a privately owned company that specializes in Movies, Television, and Musical programming. TrialxFire.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1392380/Soulidifly_Productions_Joseph_Movie_Poster.jpg

Acclaimed Director Frances-Anne Solomon to spearhead

this historic new project

For Immediate Release

CaribPR Wire, TORONTO, Canada, Mon. Nov. 9, 2020: The pivotal role played by British-Trinidadian journalist and activist Claudia Jones in launching the world’s largest street festival, the Notting Hill Carnival, is the focus of a new Canada-UK co-production.

Leading the production is acclaimed Canadian director Frances-Anne Solomon (Hero: Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross). The film will be produced by Solomon’s CaribbeanTales Media Group (CTMG), in partnership with Nadine Marsh-Edwards’ UK-Based Greenacre Films and Lisa Wickham’s Trinidad and Tobago-based Imagine Media International Limited.

Set in London in 1958 as violent race riots ravaged the country, CLAUDIA tells the story of Jones, a Trinidad-born activist deported to England from McCarthyite USA, who comes up with an ingenious plan to unite Britain’s Black and white working classes.

“Claudia was a modern day superhero rooted in the real world, whose remarkable life and achievements straddled the USA, England and the Caribbean.”  says Solomon. “I could not be more excited to work with this global team of accomplished Black women to tell this inspiring story.”

“Greenacre Films is proud to partner with Frances-Anne and CaribbeanTales to tell the story of a remarkable Black woman whose achievements helped to shape the London we live in today,” says Marsh-Edwards, whose many acclaimed productions include Been So Long, starring Michaela Cole.

Imagine Media’s CEO Lisa Wickham believes that, “Frances-Anne’s film shines a much-deserved light on a Caribbean-born woman whose rich and beautiful legacy amplifies Black voices and experiences as a whole.”

Joining the team as co-creator and co-writer is British actress, writer and director Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton, Dr. Who, Invictus) and rising British screenwriter Omari McCarthy.

“Claudia’s work promoting women’s rights,  Black rights and the rights of the poor and disenfranchised laid the seeds for so much that followed  – African and Caribbean independence, civil rights, Pan Africanism and inevitably, today’s Black Lives Matter movement,”  adds Adjoa Andoh.

CLAUDIA’s development has been funded by Telefilm Canada. The project is one of thirteen (13) films selected for the Attagurl Program, a unique year-long lab supporting the development and distribution paths of amazing projects by women and non-binary around the world.

Media Contact: Fennella Bruce | 647.290.7610 | [email protected]

CaribbeanTales Media Group (CTMG) is a multi-faceted group of media companies that produces, markets, and sells culturally diverse film and television content from the Caribbean and its wide Diaspora. It includes: CaribbeanTales Inc a registered Canadian Charity, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution, a film distribution entity, CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, now celebrating 15 years; Caribbeantales-TV, a VOD streaming service; the Creatives of Colour Incubator, a year-round development and production hub, and CaribbeanTalesFlix, its production arm.

In 2014, Frances-Anne Solomon founded CineFAM, to amplify the voices of women of colour creators worldwide – that includes an annual film festival, an incubator and film productions. 2020 sees the launch of the inaugural Windrush Caribbean Film Festival, a UK-based charity that celebrates the impact of the Windrush generation on life on Britain and the world.

Recent award-winning CTMG productions include HERO – Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr. Ulric Cross by Solomon (Trinidad & Tobago/Canada 2019); Caribbean Girl NYC by Mariette Monpierre (Guadeloupe/Canada 2016); Battledream Chronicle – A New Beginning, by Alain Bidard (Martinique/Canada 2016); and Kingston Paradise by Mary Wells (Jamaica/Canada 2014).

Greenacre Films is an independent production company founded by award-winning producers Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks. They bonded over their desire to create fresh, surprising stories with diverse voices. ​Working with great talent is the key to our success, we are an inclusive space that allows innovative ideas to be realised; where whether you are an award-winning writer or an exciting newcomer you feel able to be bold in your vision and creatively ambitious. Our television and film slate aims to connect with both the UK and global audiences and all, at their heart, are stories that explore the human condition in surprising and entertaining ways.

Imagine Media International Limited is an award-winning, full-service, production company, based in Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa. Founded by award-winning producer-director & media personality Lisa Wickham, the company provides content creation across all media platforms, event management, marketing & PR Services, graphic design and training & consultancy. Imagine Media has developed and coordinated projects in Europe, North America, Africa and several Caribbean countries.

For Immediate Release

CaribPR Wire, TORONTO, Canada, Thurs. March 19, 2020: Toronto-based CaribbeanTales Media Group has announced that it has begun work on a feature film based on the award-winning memoir In the Black by one of Canada’s most respected entrepreneurs, Denham Jolly. The feature development is supported by the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Telefilm Development Program. A short film based on Jolly’s early life is also being produced. His compelling memoir, that won the Toronto Book award in 2017, tells the inspiring story of his journey from Jamaica to Canada in the 1950’s, through his struggles to overcome racism and become an extremely successful businessman, activist, philanthropist, and publisher.

Solomon, the producer and director on this project, will work with screenwriter Andrew Burrows-Trotman and development executive Jamie Gaetz  to recreate the triumphs and trials of  Jolly’s life, the fabric of which is interwoven with Marcus Garvey’s ideals of economic self-empowerment,  music of the time, and the activism of several generations of Black Canadians who are also part of this remarkable story.

“Denham Jolly’s ten-year battle to win a license for Canada’s first black radio station, is the stuff of urban legend. In the Black shows Canada from a unique point of view. It’s the story of Canada herself, through a fresh and important lens. Our audiences are hungry for authentic stories about Canadian life: Real lives of real people who came to this country and made it their home.” says Solomon.

An icon of the Black community in Canada, Jolly is a founding member of the Black Business Professional Association, Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund, Harry Jerome Awards, Black Action Defence Committee and the Harriet Tubman Games, to name just a few organizations his hand has touched. A self-made millionaire, last year he paid off the mortgage for the Jamaican Canadian Centre and continues to be a philanthropist working behind the scenes to support numerous community causes.

“I cannot express how pleased and excited I am to know that my experiences in Canada and the building of the Black community in Toronto will be documented in film. Writing my memoir and receiving tremendous feedback for it has been both gratifying and humbling. Now, future generations will be able to watch my life story on the big screen,” says Jolly. “I trust Frances-Anne Solomon to tell this story with honesty, integrity and the directional creativity she always brings to every project she touches.”

Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, curator and entrepreneur.  A 2019 Director member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, her  third feature film Hero Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross has received wide critical acclaim on its worldwide tour, that includes theatrical runs in both Canada and U.K. and the Opening Night sold-out screening at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.  She is the founder and CEO of the multi-facetted CaribbeanTales Media Group. In 2017 she founded CineFam, to support bold original stories by women of colour creators. Prior to returning to Canada in 2000, Solomon had a successful career as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer with the BBC in England.

Andrew Burrows-Trotman is an established Canadian writer. He has been in the writer’s room for Frankie Drake (CBC), Homicide Club (Bell) and Diggstown (CBC).  He is currently working on a dramatic pilot with executive producer and former NBA player Steve Nash called Hardwood, and he is developing a miniseries based on Lawrence Hill’s acclaimed novel The Illegal (Conquering Lion, CBC).

Jamie Gaetz is a story editor and development consultant with extensive experience in the Canadian media industries. As an analyst at Telefilm Canada, she worked with clients across Atlantic Canada and in Quebec., part of  the team that nurtured talent behind many award-winning films, including two shortlisted for Cannes, one Sundance selection, a winner of the Claude Jutra Award, several selected for TIFF and a top download on iTunes.

The CaribbeanTales Media Group produces, markets and sells Caribbean-themed film and television content for global audiences. It includes the CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, CaribbeanTales Incubator Program, CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution and CaribbeanTalesFlix.

The Harold Greenberg Fund/Le Fonds Harold Greenberg is a national funding organization that supports the development of Canadian dramatic feature films. Since 1986, it has invested over $85 million in the Canadian film and television industry, which is more than 4, 000 projects.

Peter Williams and Melanie Nicholls-King play Harry Gairey and Violet Williams, respectively, in the short film Violet's Story.

Denham Jolly

Director Frances-Anne Solomon

For more information:

www.caribbeantales.org

https://www.bellmedia.ca/harold-greenberg-fund/

Media Contact: Fennella Bruce|FKB Media Solutions|[email protected]|647.290.7610

More photos and B-roll available upon request.

For Immediate Release

CaribPR Wire, TORONTO, Canada, Thurs. Feb. 27, 2020: Following a sold-out Opening Night of the 28th Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF), with more than 1,000 patrons at the Director’s Guild of America in West Hollywood,  and two subsequent packed screenings, Frances-Anne Solomon’s HERO was awarded the newly created Ja’Net Feature Narrative Award, renamed in honour of PAFF co-founder, Ja’Net Dubois.  The well-loved actress and songwriter, who sadly passed away unexpectedly  during this year’s  festival, was best known for her role as Willona in the TV series, Good Times.

“We are proud to be the recipient of this inaugural award in honour of Ja’Net. Hero is a film about a Pan African trailblazer and it  resonated deeply with audiences at  this festival,” says Frances-Anne Solomon, who wrote, produced and directed the film. “It spoke to the heart of what PAFF  is about, and connected the dots for many people who lived this history and were not aware of the pivotal role that many Caribbean professionals like Ulric Cross played in the Pan-African Liberation movements.”

PAFF is the largest Black film festival in the United States and the largest Black History Month cultural event in the nation. It ran from February 11th to February 23rd. A record-breaking 225 films were selected for screening, representing 52 countries in 26 languages – that is, 86 feature films; 128 short films and 11 new media selection. Plus, ArtFest featured more than 100 fine artists from around the world. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has designated PAFF as an official qualifying film festival for live action and animation short films.

HERO is inspired by the extraordinary life and times of Trinidad and Tobago citizen, diplomat and judge Ulric Cross, the most decorated West Indian of World War II. He was a member of the highly decorated group of Caribbean pilots who flew combat missions for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) in World War II. After his service, Cross went on to play an active and important role in the Pan African Movement, which led to the Civil Rights movement in the United States, and the creation of the 28 modern Caribbean and 54 modern African nations.

Funded by Canada’s Telefilm and Trinidad’s Republic Bank, HERO boasts an all-star international cast that includes Trinidad and Tobago’s Nickolai Salcedo , in the lead role of Ulric Cross, alongside Canada’s Peter Williams ( Stargate SG1 ), UK stars Joseph Marcell ( Fresh Prince of Bel Air ), Fraser James ( Resident Evil ), Pippa Nixon ( John Carter ), and Ghanaian superstars John Dumelo, Adjetey Anang and Prince David Oseia. HERO’s Opening Night screening at PAFF, was supported by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; Imagine Media; CaribbeanTales; and California Pictures.

A trailblazer in the film and television industry , Frances-Anne Solomon is an  award-winning filmmaker, writer, producer, curator and  entrepreneur. She is a  2019 Director member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. HERO is her third feature film and has received critical acclaim on its worldwide tour, that has included a theatrical run in the U.K. Following a successful career as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer with the BBC in England, Solomon launched the CaribbeanTales Media Group in Canada and Barbados that includes an international film festival and distribution company. Full bio: www.francesannesolomon.com

Media Inquiries:

Fennella Bruce|647.290.7610|[email protected]

Follow HERO on Social

Facebook: @Hero4Alltime

Instagram: @Hero_Film

Twitter: @Hero_Film

Visit the HERO Website

About CaribbeanTales:

CaribbeanTales (CTMG) is a group of media companies that producers, markets, exhibits and distributes Caribbean-themed films from around the world, including CaribbeanTales Inc. – a registered Charity in Canada and CaribbeanTales Worldwide Distribution.  Activities include The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF), now in its 15th year; the renowned CaribbeanTales Incubator Program (CTI) – a year-round development and production hub for Caribbean, Diaspora, and diverse Producers; CaribbeanTales-TV, a VOD streaming service; and CaribbeanTalesFlix, its production arm. More at www.caribbeantales.org

About California Pictures:

California Pictures was originally founded in 1944 by Howard Hughes and Academy Award winner Preston Sturges and reincorporated in 2008 by Steven Istock.  The company is focused on creating great movies and television content with dynamic characters, strong and personally identifiable themes and powerful journeys for a worldwide audience. California Pictures is an international production and distribution company, exhibiting and selling independent films across the world.  They produce and sell films at the Cannes, American, Berlin and Hong Kong film markets and represent a diverse group of filmmakers and projects from around the world including England, China, India, Jamaica, Mongolia, Canada, Denmark, Australia, South Africa, Scotland, Nigeria, Russia, Barbados, Columbia and Cambodia.

About Imagine Media

Imagine Media International Limited is an award winning, full-service, production company based in Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa. Founded by award-winning Producer-Director & Media Personality Lisa Wickham, the company provides content creation across all media platforms, event management, marketing & PR services, graphic design and training & consultancy.  Imagine Media has developed and coordinated projects in Europe, North America, Africa and several Caribbean countries.

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