Karen Marks Mafundikwa

The Price of Memory

Karen Marks Mafundikwa

Queen Elizabeth II visits Jamaica for her Golden Jubilee Celebrations. While there, she is petitioned by a small group of Rastafari for slavery reparations. For Rastafari, reparations is linked to a desire to return to Africa, the homeland of their African ancestors who were enslaved in Jamaica during British colonial rule. The film traces this petition, as well as a reparations lawsuit against the Queen. In the background are the stories of earlier Rastas who pursued reparations in the 1960s, and who undertook a historic mission to Africa to organize official repatriation. The film explores how Britain grew wealthy from slavery and the impact of slavery on independent Jamaica, following the filmmaker on a journey, during which the question of reparations reaches Parliament in both Jamaica and the UK. Filmed over a decade, The Price of Memory is a compelling exploration of the enduring legacies of slavery and the case for reparations.