2009 film Festival line-up

feb. 23rd- 27th (2009)

This years film festival will bring a whole host of excellent new films from all over the world, more info on this will be released over the coming weeks. Due to the huge success of the first Reggae film Festival in Feb.2008 we have now increased the number of days from 3 to 5 days. This year we have also incorporated daytime screenings, film making talks and competitions, live reggae acts. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Below are some of this years film entries (TBC)........

made in jamaica

by jerome lapperousaz  (2007) (120mins)

"Made in Jamaica" is a powerful portrait of the leaders of the reggae music Movement, and how Reggae has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film showcases performances by the best Reggae and Dance Hall artists ever assembled. From their native ghetto to international fame, "Made in Jamaica" is the story of the artists who represent the Jamaican Dream.

The film presents, in order, themes of the Jamaican music :

Crime and violence of the ghetto
The political responsibility
History of Slavery and Colonisation
Legacy of Bob Marley and Salvation trough music
Music, recording studio and thousands of artists
Religion and Rastafari
Sex and Music
Women and their role
Message of Hope for a better life
 

It is the story of how a small island nation of only three million people took their pain and misery and turned those emotions into songs that resonate around the world. Reggae is Jamaica's blues: a music of both desperation and hope.

Reggae music sprang into life in the 70's. It was the first time that a third world country had made its voice heard on such a large scale. Instantly recognizable, the reggae sound is a celebration of life itself. Now a new generation of reggae artists has emerged and its fathers are still in Jamaica.

The Dance Hall, emerging from reggae, is drawing large crowds across the globe. At its origin, the Dance Hall concept is heavily influenced by religious overtones. Like rap music, Dance Hall's message is powerful and straightforward, with lyrics about sex, violence, and social issues, including much on women's rights.

 

 

babylon

by franco roSSO  (1981) (90 mins)

Babylon is a gritty, neorealist account of the lives of a group of West Indian youths living in London. Unlike most films about reggae music and culture, Babylon doesn't explore the sunny side of Jamaican life or West Indian gangland culture; instead, it looks at how the implicit radicalism of reggae mirrored political and social concerns in the urban areas outside Jamaica where the music was so enthusiastically embraced.

 Blue (Brinsley Forde) is the Rastafarian leader of a Sound System (a mobile disc-jockey team who spin reggae records at clubs, parties, and other gatherings) who is trying to prepare for an upcoming Sound System competition. Blue's love of music is one of the few positive outlets in his life; with the crime and violence of London's slums, the verbal and physical attacks by racist whites, and the jealousy of other DJs, Blue is reaching the end of his rope. That rope begins to fray when Blue is fired from his job, is brutally attacked by police officers, and discovers that his DJ equipment has been destroyed by angry neighbors.

 

road through the blue mountains

by barbara blake hannah  (2002) (60 mins)

The Road Through The Blue Mountains, is both a figurative and literal route - one which
exposes some of the purest locales in Jamaica, its natural history and culture. It is an almost spiritual excursion, in many ways the story of Blake
Hannah's experience living in the mountains, but also the story of the mountains, their residents and future.

 

Rastafarians of Jamaica

by aran patinkin (1995) (25 mins)

The “Rastas” of Jamaica believe themselves to be the only authentic carriers of the Hebrew spirit and the Jewish destiny.  Like the Jews, they felt the bitterness of exile, they suffered the terrible effects of racial prejudice and cultural alienation and they, too, yearn to return to their Zion - Ethiopia. They also have a messiah, the Emperor Haile Selassie, whom they believe to be a direct descendant of the holy union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

The film displays the unique Rasta rituals where they elevate themselves towards the divine with the help of Bongo drums and passionate Reggae music, cloaked in heavy smoke of marijuana, an integral part of their devotion.

The film also features the well known Jamaican film star Carl Bradshaw, but not as an actor but this time as a Rasta.

 

kids paradise

by barbara blake hannah (1996) (52 mins)

Kids Paradise is a childrens adventure made by Barbara Blake Hannah in 1996.

'Shasta Runs Away' - In this episode a stressed young fashion model runs away from the hotel where she is to perform, and  her brothers get help from some boys to find her.  As a reward the brothers invite the boys to stay at their home in Negril, where they have another crime-solving adventure.

The film features a young Nile and Storm Saulter who are now both leading Jamaican film makers.

 

journey of the lion

by fritz baumann (1992 ) (90mins)

Life in Jamaica for the Rastafrian Howard A.Trott and his children Irey and Makeba is a day-to-day struggle for survival. His only real hope of his faith in repatriation to Africa, the home of his forefathers, the "Land of the Lions".

Brother Howie has never left Jamaica. And then one day he suddenly receives a letter from his sister in London who he has not seen for thirty years. Her invitation entices him to commence the journey.

The film provides conditions, provokes movement, but the staging of scenes is hardly necessary as it is really Brother Howie's first contact with the word beyond the shores of Jamaica. 

The filmteam accompanied Brother Howie for half a year across three continents and documented his encounter with the land of his dreams: Africa.

 

The Story of Randy's

by christopher & clive chin (2007 ) (40mins)

Randy’s Record Mart was founded in 1958 by Vincent & Patricia Chin. Their retail enterprise went on to become VP Records; the world’s largest reggae distributor & record label. This film tells the story of the Kingston, JA record shop and it’s ascension to one of Jamaica’s leading recording studios (known as Studio 17) in the earliest days of reggae music.

The Story Of Randy’s(40mins), is a documentary about the Chin Family and the golden age of the mythic Randy’s Studio. This film features some rare archive footage and interviews with legendary artists like Lord Creator, Ken Boothe, Stranger Cole, Derrick Harriott, Niney The Observer, Johnny Dizzy Moore, Jah Stitch, Big Youth, Sly Dunbar, Earl Morgan (The Heptones), and Pat Kelly.
 

duke vin & the birth of ska

by gus berger (2008 ) (50mins)

"London in the 1950’s was a cold place in more ways than the obvious. Or so it appeared if you were one of the thousands of newly arrived Jamaicans. Many were overqualified for their menial jobs. Thousands of others quite simply could not get work. Discrimination and racial tensions culminated in fierce riots in both Nottingham and Notting Hill Gate.

It was in this environment that the Jamaican soundmen; Duke Vin and Count Suckle arrived in the UK. They both stowed away on a boat from Kingston and brought with them a sound that was sweeping across the small Caribbean island and would later change the face of music in the UK.

This was the sound of ska! Duke Vin was the main deejay on Tom The Great Sebastian’s Beat Street system in Jamaica and he built the first sound system in the UK in 1956. Count Suckle started the famous Roaring Twenties club on Carnaby Street in 1962 and Daddy Vego was its first deejay. Daddy Vego would later set up People’s Sound Record Store, a bustling red, green and gold-painted reggae emporium that is the only non-gentrified business on All Saint’s Rd.

Forty years ago that same street was rapidly evolving into one of London’s frontlines and a virtual no-go area for the police.Count Suckle’s Roaring 20’s club was the first club that welcomed black people in London and its electric mix of rhythm and blues, soul and ska made it the busiest clubs in London for years, attracting all the leading musicians of the day.

Now in their 70’s, Vego and Vin, both continue to do as they have always done, promoting and pushing Jamaican music. Daddy Vego is still running his record store and plays a vital role in the Ladbroke Grove community with his youth projects and street fairs. Duke Vin is still a deejay, playing on sound systems at the Notting Hill Carnival and to packed clubs such as Gaz’s Rocking Blues in Soho.

These three men are the last surviving members of a small group of Jamaicans who played an instrumental role in bringing the sound and musical culture of Jamaica to the UK. This is their story and the story of their sound.".

 

 

 

Destination Jamaica

by george tait (AKA jungle George) (2004)(85 mins)

We are very pleased to be able to show this unique film titled 'Destination Jamaica' (AKA Rastafarian Dreams) which is made by Canadian author/film maker George Tait (AKA Jungle George).

The film takes us on a journey back to the 1980's when George left his home in Woodstock, Canada on the journey of a lifetime and fortunately for us he documented his journey on one of the first ever handheld camcorders available to the general public.
George ended up staying in Jamaica for almost 20yrs.

The film takes us to the remote area of South Broughton, George documents his experiences while living with a local Rasta family 'The Sommervilles' (below) to whom he later became lifelong friends.

The film explains how George struggles in his attempt to save the family beachfront property from destruction.  The film entertains as well as educates us on the food and culture of the island. 

A real must see film for anyone interested in seeing the real Jamaica, one not usually seen on the glossed over holiday brochures.

DVD available from www.reggaefilms.co.uk 

 

updates

More films will be added to this section over the comming weeks so please check back for more info. We will also provide information on other events going on throughout 'Reggae Month' which will celebrate Reggae's 50th Anniversary in Jamaica.