World Premiere Screening of ‘Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess’ at United Nations on 19 October
On Monday, 19 October, the Remember Slavery Programme, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations, will host the world premiere screening of Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Members of the general public and the United Nations diplomatic community are invited to attend.
Queen Nanny: Legendary Maroon Chieftainess is a one-hour documentary film that unearths and examines the mysterious figure — Nanny of the Maroons — Jamaica’s sole female national hero and one of the most celebrated, but least recognized, heroines in the resistance history of the New World. The film documents the struggle for freedom by the Jamaican Maroons, led by the indomitable eighteenth-century military genius Nanny of the Maroons. This film also looks at Queen Nanny’s legacy and her impact on contemporary women in general, with appearances by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller; double Olympic sprint champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce; the “Queen of Reggae”, Rita Marley; University Professor Verene Shepherd; and many others. Cristina Gallach, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information; Courtenay Rattray, Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations; Eden Charles, Deputy Permanent Representative and Charge d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations; and Roy T. Anderson, film director, producer and writer of the film, will deliver opening remarks.
The screening will be followed by a discussion moderated by Ms. Gallach. The panellists will include Mr. Anderson; Harcourt Fuller, producer and historian on Africa and the African diaspora at Georgia State University; Gloria Simms, lead actress; and Gaynel Curry, Gender and Women’s Rights Adviser for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The opening remarks and Q&A will be webcast by UN Web TV (http://webtv.un.org).
This event is part of a series of events organized on the theme “Women and Slavery” by the United Nations Remember Slavery programme throughout 2015 to honour the struggle of enslaved women during the transatlantic slave trade and their heroic efforts to resist the institution of slavery and pass on their rich cultural heritage to their children. The United Nations Remember Slavery Programme was established by the General Assembly in 2007 to honour the memory of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, and aims to provide an
understanding of the causes, consequences and lessons of the slave trade, as well as raise awareness of the dangers of racism and prejudice today.
The United Nations Department of Public Information is also hosting the screening to help mark the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). The theme for the International Decade is “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development” and it seeks to strengthen national, regional and international cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society.
For further information, please contact Omyma David, Remember Slavery Programme, at david17@un.org. For media accreditation, please contact the Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit at www.un.org/en/media/accreditation.