---

Prepare to be inspired by one of Bermuda’s most unlikely heroes.

Kingsley Tweed, the once self-exiled and one of the most outspoken participants in the 1959 Theatre Boycotts, has returned to the big screen as the focus of local director Errol Williams’ film, Walking on a Sea of Glass. Williams says it is the best film he has ever made.

Williams describes Walking on a Sea of Glass as an outgrowth from When Voices Rise…, Williams’ 2002 film about the theatre boycotts. To make When Voices Rise… Williams tracked down Tweed in London, and as he got to know him better, he felt that Tweed’s story after he left Bermuda was such an incredible journey that it had to be told to a wider audience.

“What I was impressed with was his commitment to justice and causes of social, political and economic equality for all people,” Williams said.

“He travelled extensively around the world, practising what he believed… I wanted to make a film about it, so here we are, after two years.”

Hero’s return

Mr. Tweed, who is now in his seventies, recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer. Still, Mr. Williams said that he is going to make every attempt to be in Bermuda for the premiere.

Tweed left Bermuda two years after the theatre boycotts, because of threats to his life, and didn’t return for forty years. Walking on a Sea of Glass shows viewers what took place during that time, as well as what happened during his subsequent return to the island. Williams began making the film in July of 2003, soon after Tweed returned to Bermuda. “It begins and ends in Bermuda,” Williams said. “It follows his life journey, how all of that travel took place….I started from his activities as a youngster to the present time.”

Several locals also play a part in the film, including Ira Philip, who is a longtime friend of Mr. Tweed, and also helped to bring Williams and Tweed together in the first place. Several members of Tweeds’ family are in the film as well, including his sister Barbara Raynor and one of his daughters. “People will find it to be a very entertaining film and also a very inspiring film and a very emotional film. It touches the emotions very deeply. It is truly an incredible story and I certainly hope that Bermudians will come out to take a look. It’s the kind of story where you are going to be proud as a human being, especially a Bermudian.”

Williams says that the film will also be released on DVD at some point. “This is the most complex film I’ve ever dealt with, but it’s probably the best film I’ve ever made,” Williams said.

Walking on a Sea of Glass is part of the Bermuda International Film Festival’s Competition Documentary category. The film will screen on March 19 at 4pm at Southside Cinema and on Tuesday, March 21 at 9pm at Little Theatre.[[In-content Ad]]

---