Ask the Media Makers Panel

Mr. Eldon Trimingham is an esteemed classical painter, of the Romantic Period, whose commissioned works are at Buckingham Palace, the Smithsonian, other museums, and in private collections, internationally. Primarily specializing in historical marine paintings and in landscape paintings, he also paints portraits and has also produced paintings for the Blue Angels and Americas Cup. He is also an accomplished sailor, a Championship level croquet player, an Off-Shore World Champion powerboat racer and team owner—accomplishments, of which, are notable because he was born with cerebral palsy. He has also raised funds for a range of charities—also focusing on the needs of children with disabilities.

Gherdai Hassell is a Bermudian born, China trained, multidisciplinary contemporary artist, writer and storyteller, based in Manchester, UK. Her work investigates memory and nostalgia through which, She explores mixed media collage and painting as a means to construct and deconstruct identity. Moving and curating materials through concepts of representation, perception, identity creation, and globalization. The thread of influence that runs through this work is the impact of histories, tales of transformation passed down through family lineages. The figure plays a central role in many of her works, simultaneously existing within realms of past, present, and future. The work suggests that identity should be self-determined and understood, and contextualized through connection with others. Her multimedia work reimagines relationships with the body as avatar, social space and the invisible world.

Dr. Sajni Tolaram, Professor, English & Film Studies, at Bermuda College, teaches courses in English Language and Literature & Film Studies. She works in Rhetorical Writing and Creative Writing, and specializes in a range of Literature courses including Medieval, Shakespeare, and literary survey in British and American Literature within socio-historical contexts. In Film Studies, she works with narrative, documentary, and experimental modes. The concentration is in essential cinema and genre studies within the formative aspects of film as an art, as a science, and as a global enterprise. She serves within a range of arts entities.

MoZiah Fire Selassie is a university student studying an MSc in International Sports Management at the University Campus of Football Business. He lives in Nottingham, UK, working as a Sports Coach at Support Through Sport, an organization which aims to tackle negative influences such as knife crime and abuse that young people face through a range of sports sessions, mentoring and youth development projects. In his spare time, he plays football and represented the Bermuda National Team in both football and tennis. He also played at a semi-professional level in Nottingham and Doncaster and was on trial at professional clubs throughout England. His previous experience includes working with organisations such as the Bermuda Football Association, Salford City F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. in football event operations.

Dana Selassie, PhD, has extensive training as a media specialist, broadcaster, photographer and filmmaker. Dana has served as a Media & Television Lecturer at Bermuda College, the DeMontfort University, and the University of Nottingham. Dr. Selassie has presented research papers on race, media, and identity at Oxford, University of Nottingham, University of Warwick, and the University of Glasgow. Her academic and artistic works center around and promote Bermudian culture and identity. Her passion for documentary filmmaking and capturing real stories remains evident in the community-focused pieces she chooses to work on, such as in her most recent short film, ‘Broadcasting Black,’ featuring some of Bermuda’s most iconic broadcasters from the 1950s and 60s. Dana is also the founder and Executive Director of the upcoming Bermuda Black Film Weekend.

Joe C. Farr III started Trey Mojo Productions in 2005. He has been researching and interviewing subjects for a book on Coach Willie Jeffries – the first African American head football coach in NCAA Division-IA – while also editing video versions of the comedy podcast There It Is. At Tennis Channel, he aggregated, managed, and scheduled tennis content; developed programs in various genres; and led business development initiatives. While at ESPN, he was responsible for programming content in college football, college basketball, NCAA Championships, Track & Field, and Black History Month (to name a few). Under the BHM umbrella, he was the executive producer on Seasons of Change: The African American Athlete (2002 and 2003), Relatively Speaking: George Foreman, and Relatively Speaking: Joe Dumars. The 2002 installment of Seasons of Change won the NAMIC Vision Award for Best News/Informational Program. He has a BA from Duke University, where he was a four-year team manager for Mike Krzyzewski’s men’s basketball team (which included a trip to the Elite 8), and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.