Charities gifted tickets for football film screening
Families in need as well as those affected by gun violence will be treated to a new documentary about a legendary local footballer free of charge.
The Hamilton and Sandys Rotary clubs raised funds to provide 100 tickets to a screening of Transforming the Beautiful Game — The Clyde Best Story to the Gina Spence Programme and Family Centre.
Mr Best, one of the first Black players in First Division football, overcame racial discrimination to score 47 goals in 186 appearances for West Ham United between 1968 and 1976.
Transforming the Beautiful Gamepremiered in London last month and in Bermuda on Tuesday.
Sandra Dill, of the Hamilton Rotary Club, felt it important for the community to understand Mr Best’s journey from leaving the island at 17 to playing for the Premier League club.
She explained: “Once we understand the true story, we can see him as an amazing, resilient, resourceful individual, who as a teenager did this.”
Gina Spence-Virgil, founder and advanced grief recovery specialist at the GSP, said the screening would allow young people who have lost family members to gun violence to see a “hero in real time”.
She added: “Often we look at the UK and the US, but when you look at Clyde Best’s story, it is at that level, and the stories within his story and some of the challenges, our kids can certainly be encouraged by.”
Dan Egan, director and executive producer of the documentary, said Mr Best overcame adversity and discrimination through excellence.
He explained: “Clyde, as a 17-year-old boy before he boarded the plane, his parents told him to be nice to others, that mantra got him through some of the hardest things that are outlined in the film.”
The Ministry of National Security’s Violence Reduction Team has also purchased and donated 50 tickets for Transforming the Beautiful Game — The Clyde Best Story.
A spokeswoman said this initiative aims to “expose young people to positive Bermudian role models, stories of perseverance and examples of individuals who chose productive paths despite serious obstacles”.
Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, said: “Clyde Best’s story is not only a football story; it is a Bermudian story about courage, discipline, focus and making choices that can change the course of a life.
“The young people attending this film will see someone from this island who faced pressure, prejudice and adversity, but still found a way to rise.
“That is a powerful message. It shows that circumstances do not have to define the future.”
Mr Weeks added: “Sometimes a young person needs to see someone who looks like them, comes from where they come from and has walked through hardship to understand what is possible.”
Encouraging people to attend the screening, he concluded: “We want to give young people a chance to reflect, to be inspired and to recognise that the choices they make today can carry them towards something meaningful.”
Rick Richardson, the former Hamilton Rotary Club president, is briefly featured in the film.
He said: “Family Centre is also making a lot of tickets available for those children in foster homes and families who would not otherwise be able to see something like this.”
All free tickets have been distributed and the film will be shown at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts until Sunday.
• General admission is $50 and Red Carpet VIP tickets, which include a meet and greet, drinks and hors d’oeuvres, are $150. Tickets can be purchased viaclydebest.shop
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