Two Bermudian filmmakers have been given grants to help them complete new film projects.

Dr Ernest Peets, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Sport, said Rory Wilson and Rick Richardson were recipients of $5,000 Bermuda Art Council grants to be used in making their films.

Mr Wilson is working on his sixth short film, Coerce, which is based on Alex Skeel’s true story and explores the dynamics of an abusive relationship from a male perspective.

Mr Wilson’s last film, Loco, was named “Best Film” at the British Film Institute 2021 Future Film Festival. Mr Wilson, who received a BAC grant in 2019 for Loco, also won Best Actor at Long Story Short International Film Festival for the film.

Mr Richardson, a veteran television journalist, is producing an hour-long documentary called Victory, which chronicles the origins of the labour movement in Bermuda.

The film features former Bermuda Industrial Union president Ottiwell Simmons, former Premier Sir John Swan and former Cabinet Secretary the late Kenneth Richardson, all central figures in the Island-wide industrial strike of 1981.

Dr Peets said Mr Wilson’s Best Film award was further validation of the value of the Department of Culture’s and the Bermuda Arts Council’s investment in local art makers.

Mr Wilson said: “I’m very appreciative of this grant from the Bermuda Arts Council. Coerce will be the biggest and most ambitious project I have undertaken which is an exciting challenge as I continue to build a career in the film industry and again, I am pleased to have the support of the Department of Culture and the BAC.”

Mr Richardson added: “I am gratified to be working with a team of dedicated and knowledgeable individuals on this documentary. And we are very pleased to receive this grant from the Bermuda Arts Council as it will greatly help in the continued production of this very important piece of visual history.

“Persons unaware of the unprecedented strike of 1981 will see the commitment of thousands of Bermudians go beyond the protests, and marches, and acts of civil disobedience to advance the cause of workers’ rights to secure a greater share of the economic pie.”