Staff WriterJoseph Marcell, well-known for his role as the butler in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air television series, will join the international cast of HERO – Inspired By The Extraordinary Life & Times Of Mr. Ulric Cross for the Launch of the film’s World Tour in Toronto on Thursday, February 28th, 2019, 7:00 pm, at TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W. He will attend the Launch, the Talkback and the Mixer in TIFF’s Lounge with Ghanaian superstar Adjetey Anang and Canada’s Peter Williams (Stargate SG-1).
Canadian filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon’s internationally acclaimed feature film, HERO, makes its Canadian theatrical premiere, with additional screenings in Hamilton, Ajax, Brampton and Scarborough. These events will launch the Canada-wide tour and a cinematic world tour that includes Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.
“It’s wonderful that Joseph and some other members of our stellar international cast will be here for the Premiere and the intimate TalkBack afterwards. It speaks to the global scope and impact of HERO’s Pan-African story,” says Frances-Anne Solomon, director and producer of HERO.
Joseph Marcell plays Trinidadian author CLR James in HERO. Born in St Lucia and trained at RADA in England, he has lived and worked in the US and currently resides in London, England. His recent work includes The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind (Director Chiwetel Ejiofor) and title roles in Shakespeare’s King Lear and Derek Walcott’s Omeros at London’s National Theater.
“HERO’s portrayal of inspirational Black leaders and thinkers like CLR James, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and Ulric Cross allows us not only to celebrate the achievements of our past but also to shape and imagine our futures as people of the African Diaspora around the world,” added Solomon.
About HERO
Filmed in Trinidad, Ghana, the UK and Canada, HERO is the story of Ulric Cross, who in 1941, left his small island home in Trinidad to seek his fortune, and became the Royal Air Force’s most decorated West Indian airman of WWII. Then his life took a dramatically different course when he followed the call of history and joined the African independence movements sweeping the world in the 1950s and ‘60s.
HERO features an all-star cast of top international Black actors in powerful roles. Joseph Marcell (Fresh Prince of Bel Air) plays Trinidadian author CLR James, alongside Fraser James’ (Terminator) as Trinidadian revolutionary George Padmore, while British-Nigerian actor Jimmy Akingbola plays Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah, and Adjetey Anang (Adam’s Apple, Potomanto) plays Congo’s ill-fated first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. Canada’s Peter Williams ( Stargate SG-1), and Trinidad and Tobago’s Nickolai Salcedo co-lead the extraordinary cast that also includes Eric Kofi Abrefa (The Informer), Pippa Nixon (John Carter, Unforgotten), and Valerie Buhagiar (Bad Blood, Murdoch Mysteries).
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