This year has been a monumental one of our island nation as this year’s election has forced a defining moment of racial, economic and technological reckoning. It’s why we’ve launched Yellow Cedar Media to elevate the discourse and take ownership of our stories in hopes of informing, educating and inspiring the Virgin Islands community. With over 500,000 views already amassed, it’s safe to say YC is indeed blooming. I also crossed a milestone in the evolution of my pioneering docu-series NiteCap in its return with Rudy Giuliani, a central figure in the shift in American leadership and premiered the episode on right here on Yellow Cedar.
However, the Unbreakable Film Academy, also launched in 2024 in partnership with the University of the Virgin Islands, is the one project most dear to my heart as five apprentices have been tasked with creating digital content for my Paradise Discovered film series focused on our people’s resilience and unbreakable spirit. Building a bridge for the next generation to connect to their dreams is at the core of the Academy’s mission in which inductees learn storytelling, filmmaking and digital media production by actually doing all three. For their final assignment of the year they spent a day at Magens Bay filming and interviewing St. Thomas native and esteemed Los Angeles based entertainment lawyer Charles Hamilton using only their smartphones. Having worked in private practice and at labels on projects by artists as diverse as Busta Rhymes, Mike Will Made-It, Don Omar, Jason Derulo and others; the Yale educated executive shared his secret to success in showbiz and how the Virgin Islands helped groomed him into a resilient force in the music business.
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