26.013 - Film Expo: The Price of Memory

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

It’s 2002. Queen Elizabeth II visits Jamaica for her Golden Jubilee. While there, she is petitioned by a group of Rastafari for slavery reparations. For Rastafari, reparations is linked to returning to Africa, homeland of their enslaved ancestors. The film traces this petition and a reparations lawsuit against the Queen. In the background are stories of earlier Rastas who pursued reparations in the 1960s. It explores the impact of slavery on independent Jamaica and how Britain benefitted from slavery. We follow the filmmaker’s journey during which the question of reparations reaches Parliament in Jamaica and the UK. Filmed over a decade, The Price of Memory is a compelling exploration of the enduring legacies of slavery and the case for reparations.

Film Website: https://www.facebook.com/ThePriceOfMemory

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chairs

• Jonathan I Gayles, Georgia State University

• Karen Marks Mafundikwa, Price of Memory Film