A seminal film about Bermuda's history will be screened during this year's Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF), festival director Aideen Ratteray-Pryse told Hamilton Rotarians yesterday.

This will be the first time a feature documentary with a Bermuda theme will be shown during the festival and Errol Williams' tale of the 1959 Theatre Boycott, "When Voices Rise", should prove a popular ticket.

"It deals with the many attempts to dismantle segregation in Bermuda," Mr. Williams said of his film.

"The most successful attempt was organised by the Progressive Group. Working in secret they organised a boycott of the cinemas in 1959.

"This triggered mass support from the public and resulted in unprecedented change for the Island."

Mr. Williams was originally slated to attend yesterday's Rotary luncheon to discuss his film but Ms Ratteray-Pryse said that he was caught up in Toronto where he is finishing editing When Voices Rise before its Bermuda launch.

Ms Ratteray-Pryse read a message from the filmmaker, however, in which Mr. Williams thanked Rotary and his principal sponsors - Bank of Bermuda Foundation and Centre Solutions.

"When Voices Rise is a documentary about social protest in the 1950s, culminating with the Theatre Boycott of 1959 which succeeded in bringing down the walls of segregation in Bermuda," he said.

"I developed a passion for this story especially when I discovered that the people who helped bring about such momentous changes were still around to tell their story.

"The voices in this documentary are the voices of those people telling their own story.

"It is a story of quiet determination; it is a story about people working together; and, it is a story of triumph."

When Voices Rise will be shown at Southside Cinema on Saturday April 13 at 4 p.m., Ms Ratteray-Pryse said.

The screening will be followed by a gala fundraising party sponsored by the bank, Centre Solutions and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

The party will be held at Zurich Centre between 7 and 10 p.m. and tickets will be available for $60.

The funds raised will be shared between the festival and the filmmaker.

The film's major sponsors were on hand yesterday to express their support for the project.

"The bank is very cognisant of the fact some of those who organised the Theatre Boycott never received their due recognition for the risks and sacrifices they undertook," Clem Talbot of Bank of Bermuda said.

Mr. Talbot said the bank had been "keen" to offer both financial and moral support when approached about the documentary.

The boycott ended not only segregation in the theatres but also in Bermuda's hotels, restaurants, banks, churches and schools, he added.

Richard Winchell of Centre Solutions said it was important to honour those who spearheaded the battle for fundamental reform which "dismantled legal segregation as a form of racial control."

He added: "The selfless act of this heroic group changed their world and ours. They gave, but sought no recognition."

Many of the boycott's organisers remained anonymous until 1999, when they finally stepped forward as Bermuda marked the 40th anniversary of that death knell of the intolerable segregation era.

When Voices Rise will be competing with 55 films from sixteen countries for honours in this year's festival.

Ms Ratteray-Pryse said BIFF had come a long way since its inception in 1997 when 22 films were screened in total.

Over 300 films were submitted for consideration this year.