Charisse Holder is on a mission to preserve her legacy. The young first generation Guyanese-American filmmaker recently wrapped up production of “Where’s My Inheritance?“, a film she co-produced with Randy Harris that documents their journey back to Guyana, the land of their ancestors in search of the missing pieces of their identity. The much anticipated film will premiere at Metro Tech Center’s Pfizer Auditorium in Brooklyn, New York on Friday, June 21, 2019.
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Film Synopsis
‘Where’s My Inheritance?’ looks at colonization and its harmful effects on the African Diaspora, and a search for reclaiming the Black Identity by following the lives of two New Yorkers Charisse Holder and Randy Harris who are of Guyanese descent. They will journey back to their homeland to try and uncover rites of passage gems left by their Ancestors and countrymen in order to fill in the missing pieces of ancestry and legacy. Upon diving deeper into the Guyanese culture and its struggle with past governments to implement its own identity across the music, economic and entertainment scene, the two learn that inheritance is far beyond materialistic.
Charisse’s parents are both from Guyana’s Capitol, Georgetown. The couple were high school sweethearts, married for 40 years prior to her father’s passing one year ago. “My father, who was an integral part of our journey, recently passed away and with this sudden loss, our team has incurred more vigour to not only complete this film but to broadcast this film on a global scale; to not only honour his legacy but to help create dialogue and a sense of identity to those [locally] and abroad [in] the African diaspora” she shared with the Guyana Chronicle.
“We wish to share an experience that many dream of undertaking, in order to provide answers to much-needed questions about identity after colonisation.”
Charisse’s youngest memory of being in Guyana was at the age of 5, but it was not until her 30th birthday that she decided to return for a rite of passage. Among the many things that she discovered during that journey was information about her great, great paternal grandfather Samuel J Holder aka “Butcher Holder” including a book written about the work that he did in helping to build Buxton on the East Coast of Demerara. “I gained so much from going back home after so long and the film also details that journey as well as relatives along the way that have helped to contribute to the livelihood of Guyana and the diaspora” Charisse said.
With over 10 years in the events production and marketing space, Charisse comes to the filmmaking industry with a wide variety of expertise in project management, brand marketing, and creative direction. She is also the creator of the lifestyle brand, Beauty Inspires Creativity and Festival Producer of the Lyricalympics Festival. Charisse has channeled her passion of filmmaking and story-telling into the seams of this project and continues to expand her influence throughout her community to connect the film to social causes that need dialogue in order to see a societal change.
