By 2010 I was wanting to sink my teeth into a meaty, more complex story. In a conversation before his death, my father had described Eric Williams as a tragic figure. It was an unexpected portrayal, and I realised I’d never truly considered Williams the man, not beyond established mythologies of him as the ‘father of the nation’ etc.
The 100th anniversary of Williams’ birth was coming up, so I developed a series around the core idea of going beneath the myth to discover who Williams was. Looking back, I’m not sure where I got the courage to explore such a challenging and famous person! I was lucky that @firstcitizens became the series funder and the brilliant Alake Pilgrim wrote the script.
“The film gives new insights into William’s personality omitted from his own autobiography, Inward Hunger, and historical studies. His daughter Erica speaks of the warm, humorous and affectionate father Williams himself may have felt too insecure to reveal in public. Totally disregardful of self, and fearing any appearance of weakness, in his last sudden and fatal illness Williams refused all offer of medical help, or the solace of company, and the day after his death was found dead under an African robe in his study. More effectively than could a printed text, the multiple voices of Mariel Brown’s film present a complex, moving portrait of both Williams and the nation he did so much to create.”- Louis James (Wasafiri, 2013)
Inward Hunger features interviews with Professors Bridget Brereton, Selwyn Ryan, Rhoda Reddock, Ken Boodhoo, Colin Palmer, Pat Mohammed, Brinsley Samaroo; family members Erica Williams-Connell, Peggy and Patsy Gittens; writers Raoul Pantin and Earl Lovelace and many others.
The team:
Producer, director and editor: Mariel Brown
Writer, researcher: Alake Pilgrim
Researcher, line producer: Catherine Emmanuel
Director of photography: Sean Edghill
Composer: Francesco Emmanuel
Narrators: Nigel Scott and Albert La Veau
