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Four hundred years of history on film

Date Posted: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Author: Christen Pears

The plot of Lucinda Spurling’s latest film has all the components of a thriller: a shipwreck, stolen gunpowder and Cold War intrigue. But The Lion and the Mouse isn’t a Hollywood blockbuster; it’s a documentary exploring Bermuda’s role in the history of the United States.

“My two passions are entertainment and education and as far as I’m concerned they can’t be taken separately,” says the filmmaker.

“This is a great story but it’s one a lot of people don’t know about, which is why I’m making this film.”

Bermuda’s history is inextricably linked to that of the US. The island was settled after the Sea Venture, on her way to Jamestown with supplies, was wrecked in storm. During the American Revolution Bermudian supporters of George Washington stole and smuggled gunpowder to rebel troops fighting the British. The island was a centre for Confederate blockade runners during the Civil War and in the 20th century became a key American military base.

Bermuda’s strategic importance to the US is summed up by the film’s title, which is taken from Aesop’s Fables, and can be paraphrased as “Little friends can make great friends”

The documentary will be released in 2009 to tie in with Bermuda’s 400th anniversary and is a hugely ambitious project, involving hours of painstaking research, more than 30 interviews and historical recreations.

“It’s a huge subject but I want to convey that sense of time and give it scope. What I am doing is very much a general history but bringing out the interesting details through personal stories. Filmmaking is not like writing a book. It’s interviewing a lot of experts and trying to frame what they say so that it makes sense and flows in a short period of time.”

Originally intended to be two hours, Lucinda says it will more likely be three but this brings advantages. The film will be designed so that it can viewed all at once or in segments, making it more accessible to the outreach and community groups who will comprise a significant part of the audience.

“I found with my last film (Rare Bird) that at 80 minutes it was difficult for some people to use. I would like as many people as possible to see the Lion and the Mouse so if they’re interested in the war of 1812 or the Enterprise they’ll be able to just watch the segment they want. This way it will be more useful to the community.”

One of the themes that will be drawn out will be the spirit, adaptability and opportunism displayed by Bermudians in such abundance. For 400 years the island has been subject to the commercial and political whims of the US and UK but Bermudians have been able to turn this to their advantage.

“Bermuda’s role has changed. We continuously reinvented ourselves for survival and sustainability regardless of our politics. Bermuda turned it its isolation and what could have been a weakness into a strength and it’s very interesting to delve into that.”

Lucinda, a keen amateur historian, has always been fascinated by the relationship between the Bermuda and its larger neighbour. “I think living in St George’s and being surrounded by history every day you want to find out what the significance is. My family property, where my uncle lives, was built towards the end of the Civil War and was used as a coal shed for fuelling up blockade runners. That really brings the past to life.

“When I was at school in Bermuda the only local history I learned was about the wreck of the Sea Venture but other subjects covered by the curriculum such as the, the Civil War and emancipation could easily have been related to the Bermudian experience. That’s really what this film is about.”

She, too, has learned far more about Bermuda’s history than she ever imagined. Initially she intended the documentary to end with the Second World War but as she researched the subject she decided to extend the film to include the Cold War.

“I didn’t know much about it but once I started researching it I realized how fascinating it was. When I was growing up I thought I was living on this isolated, peaceful island but there were American planes in the air 24 hours a day, poised to counter attack any Soviet attack, and Bermuda was the refueling station. I had no idea what was going on and how close we were to being the centre of a Mid-Atlantic nuclear war.”

Through its use of recreation and archive footage and stills, she hopes The Lion and the Mouse will be accessible to all, whether Bermudian or non-Bermudian, young or old. It will encourage them to be more interested in their history which will, in time, help them understand the present

“Aside from my personal interest I think it’s really important that everyone knows about our role in history. It’s important for us as a nation to understand our history because Bermuda, like a lot of places, has influences from everywhere. We are a British colony but we are self-governing. We are close to the US and the Caribbean and we have a lot of Bermudians who live abroad and then move back. It’s a melting pot but sometimes that can lead to an identity crisis in a small country. Learning about our history is one way to understand ourselves better and I think it’s as important for adults as it is for children.”

Lucinda first became interested in film at high school and then took courses at university before obtaining her masters degree at Bristol University in the UK. She worked in England for two years as an editor before returning to Bermuda in 2002 to set up Afflare Films. Her first film was St David’s An Island Near Bermuda, followed by the hugely successful Rare Bird, which tells the story of the Cahow, rediscovered living on the tiny islands in Castle Harbour after 300 years of being believed extinct. The film has been a success both in Bermuda and abroad and has been shown at festivals around the globe. Lucinda is currently negotiating for Rare Bird to be shown on US TV next year.

She says: “My passions are film, the environment and history. Rare Bird enabled to explore the environment and The Lion and the Mouse will do the same with history. People ask me where do you start when it’s such a big subject but that’s not difficult. The hard bit is when you’ve finished telling everything you want to and you’ve got six hours of film instead of three.”

The Lion and the Mouse is sponsored by a number of organisations, including The Kitson Group,BELCO,The Bermuda Arts Council, Arthur Morris Christenson & co., Brian and Nancy O’Hara, Appleby Global, BF&M, Aetna, Scandanavia Re, Zurich, Max Re, Island Press Ltd., The National Trust and the St George’s Foundation. The title sponsor is the Bank of Bermuda Foundation whose grant is a yearly matching donation. Affalre must raise another $25,000 to match the Foundation’s pledge for 2008, and another $50,000 for 2009 in order to receive the title sponsorship. Lucinda is appealing for any interested financial institution or individual to contact her if they are interested in helping out at afflarefilms@mac.com.  For more information visit www.afflarefilms.com

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