Bermuda filmmaker Errol Williams blazed a trail of inspiration wherever he went. That was the word from the filmmaking community in Bermuda and overseas after Mr. Williams passed away last Saturday.Mr. Williams was well-known in Bermuda for producing ‘When Voices Rise’ about the 1959 theatre boycott that led to Bermuda desegregation, and ‘Walking on a Sea of Glass’ about Kingsley Tweed, a key figure in the boycott who fled Bermuda fearing for his life. Both films proved very popular at the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) with ‘When Voices Rise’ winning the BIFF Audience Choice Award in 2002.

Mr. Williams, 56, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago and died from complications arising from cancer treatments. Guyana-born, he came to Bermuda in the 1970s to teach at the Robert Crawford school.

“All of us at BIFF are profoundly sad,” said BIFF deputy director Duncan Hall. “Errol was one of life’s good guys, a person who lifted spirits when he walked into a room. We will miss him dearly, and, of course, the festival will miss his passion and professionalism. One of the proudest days this festival has had was on the occasion of the world premiere of Errol’s documentary film, ‘When Voices Rise’. He cared about Bermuda, and its people. He leaves us having made an important and lasting contribution to the understanding and appreciation of Bermuda’s history.”

BIFF organisers said he’d been a real friend to the annual event right since its infancy.

“Errol was someone who was around when we first started working on the idea of the film festival,” said BIFF director Aideen Ratteray-Pryse. “He was very encouraging. It would be more exact to say he was extremely encouraging. From the beginning, he was telling us to go forward and that it was a good idea.”

Ms Ratteray-Pryse said ‘When Voices Rise’ had been an especially important movie to her, because her own father and mother, the late Dr. Stanley Ratteray and Pat Ratteray, had been involved in the Progressive Group.

“That film alone really brought to the local population what BIFF had to offer in terms of being a showcase venue for Bermudians to learn more about themselves,” she said.

Mr. Williams’ films also did well overseas, and he was a good friend to organisers of the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Lea Rinaldo, Atlantic Film Festival Director said Halifax audiences loved him.

“We have screened pretty much every film he made,” said Ms Rinaldo. “He made his film topics and subjects universally appealing. Halifax audiences loved him.”

She said she met Mr. Williams through mutual friends in Halifax. After meeting Ms Rinaldo, Mr. Williams helped to connect the Atlantic Film Festival with BIFF, and was on the jury of both events.

“Errol was one of my favourite people in the film business,” said Ms Rinaldo. “This business is a hard, ego-driven racket and Errol was one of the gems within it. He never made films with a huge agenda or sense of self-importance, it’s like he just couldn’t help himself but to tell a good story.”

In an earlier interview, Mr. Williams told The Royal Gazette that he was a perfectionist and often worked on his films until the last possible moment. This was something that Ms Rinaldo confirmed.

“I have many fond memories of chiding Errol to send his final finished film in year after year,” she said. “He was so meticulous about getting everything just right. He even showed up a few times at the actual screening with film in hand.

“Errol was the epitome of a truly charming guy. He took a quiet pride in his work and possessed compassion and enthusiasm for everyone around him and his films certainly reflected that.”>Chris Campbell of Wolfville, Nova Scotia edited Mr. Williams’ films. He said Mr. Williams’ death had come as a terrible shock. “I first met Errol over 20 years ago in New Brunswick, Canada when he first began making films,” said Mr. Campbell. “We worked on many projects together and he brought me to Bermuda twice. We taught a filmmaking workshop many years ago and then I came down for the premiere of ‘When Voices Rise’. A few days after the premiere, Errol took me around the Island and I saw where the events of the film happened and met so many of the people who were important to Errol.

“Errol was a gifted storyteller and he fell in love with the Island, her people and their stories. Wherever Errol was he was surrounded by friends and I was always meeting new people who he helped and inspired. Errol was very generous and would always give people a chance to contribute. He would recognise the potential in someone and be able to draw it out.”

Ms Ratteray-Pryse said Mr. Williams had acted as a mentor to many up and coming Bermuda filmmakers.

“Many more filmmakers have followed in his footsteps,” she said. “He set a standard for local filmmakers to see and aim for.”

Bermudian filmmaker Lucinda Spurling, producer of the movie ‘Rare Bird’ about the rediscovery of the cahow, said Mr. Williams had been a friend and mentor to her.

“I cannot believe that he is gone,” she said. “I have been in a state of shock since Saturday night.”

She said she first met him nine years ago when she was just a student dreaming of becoming a filmmaker.

“More than anyone else Errol helped me realise that this was not a foolhardy idea, but a serious ambition,” she said. “My favourite quality of Errol’s was that he never thought anything was impossible. He was enthusiastic, he was never quick to judge, and he was a resolute perfectionist. Errol’s documentary, ‘When Voices Rise’, gave me the model for how to realise my own projects.

“He lived his life to the fullest and his death is not only a loss for his family and friends, but also an immeasurable loss for the community. I know that his last finished film, ‘Walking on a Sea of Glass’, was close to getting a distribution deal, and I hope that it will reach the audience Errol deserves and that his new project will also be completed in the way he imagined.”

Another Bermuda filmmaker and friend of Mr. Williams, Al Seymour also said he’d been inspired by Mr. Williams’ work. Mr. Seymour runs an animation and production company called Seymour Artists, and recently aired film ‘Paper Byes’ at BIFF.

“We were an inspiration to each other,” said Mr. Seymour. “I met Errol some years back. My first film in BIFF premiered at the same time as ‘When Voices Rise’.

“That was a special moment for both of us. I went to see his premiere.”

He recalled how Mr. Williams ‘When Voices Rise’ arrived on the Island with only minutes to go before airing at BIFF.

“The plane landed with the tape and they whisked him to the festival,” said Mr. Seymour. “Everyone was on edge waiting for the tape.”Mr. Seymour said after the first showing of ‘When Voices Rise’ concluded the two men hugged. “It was a great moment,” said Mr. Seymour. “I was glad I was able to share that moment with him. Those things come around once.”He said he’d seen Mr. Williams only a few weeks ago, and Mr. Williams was still talking film.

“He was always working on something,” said Mr. Seymour. “I saw him and had a few words, and he talked about footage. He said he would catch up with me. He has left an indelible mark on the film making world in Bermuda. He has left the world a little bit better than when he found him. It is a real loss to Bermuda.”

In an earlier interview, Mr. Williams said he was inspired to make ‘Walking on a Sea of Glass’ after reading ‘A Storm in a Teacup’ by Dale Butler and Dr. Eva Hodgson.

“I thought the book captured the excitement of the theatre boycott,” he said. “In the book, it mentioned this mysterious speaker. When I started asking around I found the speaker was Kingsley Tweed. I thought it would make a good documentary if I could find him.”

Mr. Williams did eventually find Mr. Tweed living in England living under a different name. The film led to Mr. Tweed being brought back to Bermuda as a local hero, after many years of living off-Island.

“Mr. Williams was a talented and gifted teacher who was well liked by his contemporaries,” said Mr. Butler. “No doubt many of Bermuda’s young people will be inspired by Mr. Williams’ start. History may very well record him as the founding father of documenting historic events in our history by using documentaries.”

Mr. Williams had just started working on his next film about the emergence of the Bermuda Industrial Union.

Mr. Williams’ daughter Kitwana said she hoped to see the final touches put on ‘Walking on a Sea of Glass’ and the film on the Bermuda Industrial Union eventually completed.

“He would have wanted that,” she said.