I knew I needed Sir Geoff Palmer in my documentary instantly
Little did either of us realise that we would be meeting numerous times in that location over the next five years and how the footage we would create would have such an impact.
I was on a mission. As a Scottish-Persian filmmaker, whose family members had experienced racism, and witnessing the damaging impact of countries being colonised, I wanted Scotland to own up to its past.
I had been meeting numerous inspirational people in Scotland who knew about Scotland's links to transatlantic slavery, who were reaching out to the public in many ways.
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But it was still not mainstream. I wanted Sir Geoff in my documentary because he was excellent at communicating his wealth of knowledge about slavery in a personable way. But I soon found out from attending his lectures that his skill came at a cost. Geoff emailed me after a lecture saying 'on the night someone stabbed my back tyre … £216 later I don't mind, the response at the lecture was worth it.'
At a similar time to meeting Sir Geoff I also met Adam Ramsay, a journalist who had submitted a petition to Edinburgh City Council. Adam was challenging the brief inscription on the Melville Monument that had no mention of Henry Dundas's impact on Britain's transatlantic slave trade.
Sir Geoff had been lecturing about British generals and politicians linked to slavery including Dundas. I knew if I told Geoff about Adam's petition and connected them up there could be the potential of a good story.
I was right. Geoff and Adam clicked, the dream team was formed and filming began. What I then witnessed was that the depth of Geoff's knowledge of Dundas would go to stratospheric levels due to his amazing aptitude for focus, his enviable intellect and his unbelievable persistence that was needed to make change.
This is what made this a Bafta-winning documentary. There were so many highs and lows, long lulls of no action and by 2020 a stalemate. Then there was the murder of George Floyd. The frustration Sir Geoff felt about this stalemate and Floyd's murder pushed him to make his seminal speech at Holyrood Park in the summer of 2020 and action was finally taken.
What I really appreciated was the trust and faith Geoff had in me, an emerging filmmaker, as I filmed him time and again. The initial footage we did was for YouTube and socials. There was a time I interviewed him and realised that the Costa Coffee signage was in the background. After apologising profusely and asking for a re-interview he accepted it graciously and agreed to drive back to Edinburgh from Penicuik.
Our trust and bond developed over time. He opened up about his cancer when I witnessed him experiencing side effects during filming. I let him know about my father, also battling cancer, and we realised they were attending the same hospital.
Admiration for Geoff continued as he excelled and revelled in high-pressure situations I set up, such as the group debate I created for Channel 4 News in 2018 where Sir Geoff, Adam Ramsay, Bobby Dundas, and Michael Fry attended. These were the four people battling it out about the inscription at council meetings and they were now battling it out on screen.
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As his cancer developed by 2022, he still managed to attend a screening and Q&A at Edinburgh Filmhouse despite his obvious side-effects.
The broadcast of the first Channel 4 News film on the Dundas debate had a big impact in Scotland and the interest in Dundas and Scotland's slavery past started widening. This interest kept building as more journalists covered the story. It also sparked a petition on Dundas in Canada.
Sir Geoff was starting to reach a bigger audience with a massive uplift in social media followers. This kept going. I produced another Channel 4 News film in 2020 and then the BBC broadcast my one-hour documentary Scotland, Slavery And Statues numerous times from October 2020.
After these broadcasts, Sir Geoff chuckled to me about how many were speaking to him in the streets and supermarket in Penicuik. He was becoming a household name. Another serendipitous outcome for me was that Sir Geoff's son Ralph noticed my name on the end credits and realised there was a family connection.
I have focused on Sir Geoff's involvement with the Melville Monument and the legacy of the new plaque and its educational benefits for those who visit it.
But in parallel to this we all know the many other causes he has been involved in, the organisations and charities he has been part of, the people he has helped, the awards he has been given. It is outstanding. I was in awe of his levels of energy and drive and this was while he was battling cancer. He was a powerhouse that has left an amazing legacy.
Geoff asked me to keep sharing footage I took of him to keep his message going and to keep educating and this I will do.
In his final message to me he said: 'It was a delight to work with you, and you should take pride in your award … you gave a fair stand to us all to bring Scotland's honest history of slavery to Scotland' and I responded saying 'it was your grit and persistence that played a big role in making the documentaries successful…'
Rest in Peace Sir Geoff. Condolences to Sir Geoff's family.
Parisa Urquhart is a Bafta-winning documentary maker. Scotland, Slavery And Statues can be watched here in tribute to Sir Geoff.
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