A new film has been released exploring and celebrating the roots of St Pauls Carnival, one of the most important cultural events in Bristol, through the recollections of local elders. Inna Wi Carnival: Reflections of a Generation is the first instalment in a film series featuring crucial figures from the origins of the event and provides an oral history for future generations.
The first St Pauls Festival, as it was then called, was in 1968 organised by local residents and activists to bring together the European, African-Caribbean and Asian communities. The community event, which saw food served from people’s front gardens, wanted to challenge negative stereotypes of the area.
By 1991, it was renamed St. Paul's Afrikan-Caribbean Carnival and became what it is known to be today - to celebrate the life and histories of Bristol’s African Caribbean communities through song, art, music and movement.
