Bermudian artist Bill 'Mussey' Ming, wants all the people from his old neighbourhood to come out to see a documentary film about his life, 'Bill Ming: Stories of Wood, Wind and Fire'.

The film, directed by British university professor Andy McKay, debuted at the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) yesterday and continues today at 3.45 p.m. at the Liberty Theatre, and on Wednesday at 9.15 p.m. in the Tradewinds Auditorium at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).

The Royal Gazette spoke with Mr. Ming shortly before he saw the film for the first time.

"We were going to open the film in England first, but we decided to do it in Bermuda first, because this is my hometown," said Mr. Ming.

He hoped that many of his friends, family and acquaintances would come out and see the film.

"I don't know what the film is going to be like," said Mr. Ming. "I haven't seen it. It is the premiere for me, also. I am in every scene, but I didn't have anything to do with the editing. I trust people to take care of business."

The film is directed by Mr. Ming's long-time friend, Mr. McKay who is a research fellow and senior lecturer in media and film production at the University of Lincoln and has his own production company.

The film has been in the making for 11 years and includes an interview with deceased Bermudian historian and author Cyril Packwood, among others.

It follows many important events in Mr. Ming's life, most especially the unveiling of his Lost at Sea Memorial in St. David's, which was dedicated in November, 2006.

"One day, Andy and I met in a pub somewhere in England, in Newark," said Mr. Ming. "I said 'look, they invited me to do an exhibition in Bermuda and the Queen is going to visit'. He said 'let's film it'. I laughed. I thought about it and thought we could film it, and we could also bring in a lot of things, my life story, my travels. And that is how it started."

Mr. Ming describes himself as an African artist, woodcarver and storyteller. He has won a great deal of recognition for his artwork in the United Kingdom, and in 1993 became the first to receive the Henry Moore Sculpture Fellowship at John Moores University at Liverpool.

A significant part of the film, followed Mr. Ming as he constructed the Lost at Sea Memorial partly from an old riverboat he found rotting in a field beside a motorway in England.

"The film goes with me to the factory where part of the boat is cast into a 16-foot bronze sculpture," said Mr. Ming. "The actual piece of work is called 'Wood, Wind and Fire', because I am a wood carver. The wind is Hurricane Fabian that did a lot of damage, and caused a lot of people to die at sea."

He said the dedication last November was a moving and 'tearful' time for him, because he got to meet family members of those who had lost loved ones at sea.

The film also looks at Mr. Ming's early life, growing up in racially segregated Bermuda.

"I did it all backwards," said Mr. Ming. "I dropped out of school when I was 13 or 14 year old. I was a Bermuda Technical Institute kid. I then travelled and got a bit of experience. I knew what I wanted to do. Then I went back to school."

Mr. Ming studied at the Mansfield College of Art in Nottinghamshire in the 1970s and obtained a degree in sculpture and creative writing. He is now based in Newark (the rea> Newark, he said) and has taught in several colleges. According to his website, he has also taken part in the Arts Education for Multi-Cultural Society (AEMS) project.

"The problem with us is we go through life like — ABC — like an escalator going through life," he said. "I look at an escalator and think, 'do I have to go with those people, or is there a different way to go'. That is what I have been doing all my life."

Although he left school in Bermuda at a young age, he said he always felt he was meant for something special.

"I had signs along the way," Mr. Ming said. "I was the guy in the neighbourhood, that other kids would come to and ask to make things for them. I always felt I had something special to offer. When you are a child you take this for granted. It becomes a burden."

At a young age, Mr. Ming left Bermuda and went to work on the cruise ship, The Queen of BermuI>.

"When I got on the ship I had a drawing book and made sketches, but didn't realise I could make a living off of art," he said. "When I went to England I found a lot of crazy people like me in a college. I said this is where I belong, and they took to me. I had to start over again with a clean slate, because all the history I had on the ship and in New York, I had to leave that behind and change. You have to adapt to change and then die."

When asked if he could have had the same success if he had stayed in Bermuda, he had an emphatic 'no way'.

"First of all I was brought up under segregation when there was a black school and a white school, and black cinema and white cinema," said Mr. Ming. "I once said to a classroom of white kids in England, 'you know, at one time I wouldn't have even been allowed to talk to you lot'. Beauty is skin deep. I was lucky, and something in the back of my head said you have to come out of here (Bermuda). And I did."

Mr. Ming said he will probably never return permanently to Bermuda, because he finds it too crowded. He enjoys walking his dog in the English countryside. In England, he has a wife, Nadia and a son, Ramone, who works as a welder for British Rail.

He planned to hold a question and answer session during the Sunday premiere of the film. He said he liked telling people about his ideas, and sharing his thoughts.

"You can't keep all this stuff up here," he said, tapping his temple. "It would drive you nuts. I feel like it is nice to have something to give. When you have nothing to give, and nothing to say, it is a hard deal. I am just happy to have the platform to say it, and be welcomed back.

"If people come great, and if not, who cares. I am going to die a happy man, because I have brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, hopefully. It makes me happy to share what I have got."

He said he felt like a kid at Christmas, and couldn't wait to see himself on the big screen.

"The film talks about all the hurt, all the pain and the sacrifices," he said. "It is just nice to have a film about you anyway. Hey, (actor) Mike Douglas might come. I can ask him, 'what do you reckon Mike? Is my method acting alright? Any pointers?'" Mr. Ming joked.

"It is all real, and life is so real anyway. I don't act or play. It is great fun. There is laughter and sadness. There is all those emotions. That is what life is about. I can't wait to see it all put together for the first time. I am going to be like a kid, wow, that is me talking up there."

I am Principal lecturer in Media & Film Production at

the University of Lincoln & run my own production company.

I am Principal lecturer in Media & Film Production at

the University of Lincoln & run my own production company.