Passive existence will only perpetuate racism, warned the creator of a new movie about Bermuda race relations.

Tim Darrell, a Bermudian living in Canada will show his new documentary 'The Big Conversation' for the first time next Friday.

The project was sponsored by the Cabinet Office and The Ministry of Culture and Social Rehabilitation.

Mr. Darrell wrote, directed and produced 'The Big Conversation' using footage from Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) and Bermuda Race Relations Initiative (BRRI) events, plus interviews with Bermudians from all segments of society.

"What I am trying to achieve in the film is to show people the deeper levels of racism and strip away the misconceptions of racism," Mr. Darrell told The Royal Gazette in a telephone interview. "It is not about name calling or about bad people.

"It is beyond that. It is about the structures that we all exist in whether we like it or not."

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown started the BRRI otherwise known as 'The Big Conversation' in March 2007, and it ran until November of that year.

Supported by CURE it was facilitated by Professor Robert Jensen and Dr Bernestine Singley and consisted of dialogues and panel discussions on a variety of race-related issues.

Mr. Darrell was born in Bermuda the son of former shadow Minister of education Neville Darrell and Geraldine Darrell.

The family moved to Toronto, Canada, when Mr. Darrell was a baby.

"Being a black man who grew up in the suburbs I didn't have too much of an awareness of race," said Mr. Darrell.

But on a visit back to Bermuda in the 1980s his viewpoint changed somewhat.

"I attended a concert at the National Stadium," he said. "I was with my cousins at the time.

"Everyone was lining up. The majority was black. It was the first time in my life that I was part of the majority.

"I remember thinking there is something to race, aside from getting offended once and while.

"In school I'd been called names by other children on occasion, but other than that I didn't think that race was that deep."

He gained more insight into race while doing some filming work with CURE and the Bermuda Race Relations Initiative in 2007.

"I got a real understanding of what the issues are," he said. "It is something that permeates society at a very deep level, not just in Bermuda but in the world."

In June 2007, he put the idea of making a movie race relations in Bermuda to Rolfe Commissiong, who heads up the Bermuda Race Relations Initiative.

"I said there is a lot of great material here," Mr. Darrell said. "I would love to flesh it out with interviews and do a documentary."

It took a year for Mr. Darrell to get the go-ahead from the Cabinet Office.

"Some of the issues relate to a mindset that we have about race," said Mr. Darrell. "There are certain challenges that black people face that are unique to black people.

"There is a certain advantage that white people have simply due to the colour of their skin."

He said the challenges are in the arenas of education, employment, social and economic stability.

"Existence for a black person is a lot different than the existence for a white person."

He said this can be seen by simply observing the environment.

"There are certain places we can go that are mainly occupied by white people," he said. "There are certain high executive jobs that are occupied by white people.

"One wouldn't have to be a specialist to see that. If you go to certain high level restaurants anywhere in the world you generally don't see black people as patrons.

"It is something that we, as in blacks and whites, have come to accept as the way it is. So therefore we don't challenge it."

He said racism was really about interpersonal relationships.

"It is about a construct that exists whether or not we acknowledge it," he said.

But he said in the last couple of decades there had been some elements of change to the structure.

And he said the BRRI was one thing that was bringing about something positive.

"It is playing a role helping society on a microlevel, in terms of getting people to talk about the issues in a comfortable way," he said. "It is also about laying the groundwork to bring more macrolevel policies and procedures into place. I have no idea what those might be."

Mr. Darrell said the film gave him the opportunity to interview many people in the community.

People interviewed in the film include, but are not limited to Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Mr. Commissiong, Ron Lightbourne, Dr. Edward Harris from the Bermuda Maritime Museum, Lynne Winfield from Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB), and in some cases people Mr. Darrell just saw walking by on the street.

"There are a lot of people who are genuinely aware of racism, and who are trying to make a difference in the matter," he said. "It is an emotional topic for everyone.

"People have strong opinions. There are different levels of awareness. I have learned that there are people who are genuinely cognisant of this construct of racism and care about it."

He hoped the film would reach some people who would not normally attend one of the BRRI initiatives.

"They might not go because they think the events might be politically slanted," he said. "They might have some reservations on how they might be treated, which is totally far-fetched. But perhaps they will watch the film and gain a deeper level of understanding of what goes on in the community."

He hoped that maybe when a white person was in the position to hire someone, they would stop and ask themselves if they were dealing with a particular candidate in a racial way.

"When it comes to hiring practices, if two applicants have the same qualifications, the white owner will more likely hire a white employee," he said. "It is not to say that the employer is a overtly racist.

"But it has to do with the subconscious decision, 'I want to be with someone like me. He likes golf, I like golf'."

He said that in Bermuda black women have the most professional degrees, and black men have the second highest number of professional degrees.

"But when it comes to executive high level positions, it is the majority white male," he said. "Another statistic in the movie is that a white person without a degree can make almost as much as a black Bermudian with a degree.

"It is something that black Bermudians think about regularly, but white Bermudians don't really need to.

"Things will have to change on a micro level in terms of hiring practices and also maybe on a macro level in terms of policies and procedures. It will take a concerted effort."

Mr. Darrell said he was very pleased with how the documentary had turned out.

"I have to give a shout out to all the people I have interviewed. Rolfe Commissiong has been very supportive."

Mr. Commissiong acted as executive producer of the Big Conversation and co-produced it with Mr. Darrell.

The film will premier at the Liberty Theatre on March 20 as an invite only event.

It will be free and open to the public at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) on March 22 at 2.30 p.m. (refreshments will be available), and at the Liberty Theatre on March 29 at 2.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m.

The BRRI website will be unveiled soon. Persons can email them at at BRRI@Bermuda.com.