Untitled

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' 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

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.

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.

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.".

In forgotten sanctuaries in the Jamaican hills, Rasta elders play thier hypnotic music. Rhythms unmodified by commercialism or changing trends. It is here that the lost spirit of Reggae will again be revealed.

“This isn't your average Reggae documentary, this one travels deep into Reggae Rasta consciousness & captures the essence of Reggae on film. Through a series of interviews, live musical performances and reasoning with Rasta musicians we get to learn more about the essence of reggae music and begin to understand what reggae means to those who create it".

In February 2010 The Reggae Film Festival will screen this highly anticipated reggae documentary by Don McConnell for the first time, this is a WORLD PREMIERE event, don't miss it!

"Coping with Babylon" explores the Rastafarian experience in the West as told through the lives and works of key leaders, influential musicians, and ordinary people whose experiences epitomize the historical and contemporary challenges associated with life for African Descendents in the Western Hemisphere. "Coping with Babylon" follows the transformation of the Rastafarian movement into a recognized and popular religion of the world, Set against a backdrop of controversial world affairs, Rastafarians are vocal about their opposition to "the system," taking action according to their interpretation of the Bible, the teachings of Marcus Garvey, and the example of Haile Selassie I. For some, rejection of the western system is comprehensive, for others there are qualifications, but they are all, in their own way, Coping with Babylon.

The film features interviews with Rastafarian leaders including Ascento Fox , Barry Chevannes, Prince Emanuel and recording artists Mutabaruka, Luciano Half Pint, Morgan Heritage, Freddie McGregor, Elephant Man and Beenie Man.

Rasta's Paradise is a fifty minute documentary film that combines music performances, informal improvisations, and interviews with Rastafarians during the 60th Birthday commemoration for Bob Marley in February 2005. It is all shot in Ethiopia starting in the capital Addis Ababa and then travels to Shashamene, the land that was given by Emperor Haile Selassie to Diaspora Africans.

The documentary is constructed of segments with "live" music from the concerts during the celebrations, some improvised music on the bus to Shashemene, and drumming from the Drums of Rasta, along with a collage of chats with many Rastafarians in Shashemene. In the film Rastafari ways are explained as well as the interconnections between the Diaspora blacks, Africa, origin of the movement, connections to the Jamaican black leader Marcus Garvey, and the reason for repatriation to Ethiopia. With the divinity of His Imperial Majesty Emperor HaileSelassie a central rallying point amongst the various groups within the Rastafarian family, they all insist on and the need for peace in the human family.

From the ancients of the Nyabinghi Order, to Dr. Desta, the managing director of the Bob Marley Foundation, to artists musicians like Teddy Dan, a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, to Ras King of the Drums of Rastas, entrepreneurs like Shaft, the owner of the Rift Valley Hotel, and Rasta teachers at the Jamaica Rastafari Development Community School in Shashemene; there is one striking aspect the commitment to developing Africa, their devotion to living the Rastafari way of life, and their actively message of justice, peace and "One Love.

The Rastafari movement was founded upon the belief that the 1932 coronation of Haile Sellassie I of Ethiopia marked the second coming of Christ, a perception bolstered by the writings of Marcus Garvey. Present-day adherents in Kingston, Jamaica discuss its spiritual meaning as well the religious significance of reggae music, marijuana use and dreadlocks.

A well produced documentary about Rastafari, featuring: Omaal Wright, Barry Shevannes, Yassus Afari, Barbara Blake-Hannah, Dawn White, Mortimo Planno, Mikey Beard, Ray Smith, Shakes Shankai.

To find answers to these questions, Nation gathers four black youth, from across Toronto, and takes them on an investigative journey into the Rastafarian community in Toronto. As a community worker, Nation strongly believes that Rastafari presents one of the most powerful models for the empowerment of youth today. He engages the youth through African drumming and conversations, community events and introductions to Rastafarian elders.

Nation later travels to Jamaica to visit the birthplace of Rastafari, visit schools and meet with Dr. Barry Chevannes, a respected authority on Rastafarian, pre-eminent Rastas like Ras Ivai, Mutabaruka and Zahra Redwood, the first self-identified Rastafarian beauty queen. What will Nation and the youth discover about Rastafari and themselves?

Nation Cheong, a Rastafarian community youth worker and African drummer is concerned about youth violence and wonders if the principles and values of Rastafari has something to benefit today's youth. To find an answer to his question, he gathers a group of Black youth and takes them on a journey of discovery into Toronto's Rastafarian community. Along the way, he re-connects with some of his elders and also discovers that he has a few unanswered questions about his walk with Rastafari. This leads him to travel to Jamaica, the birthplace of Rastafari, for the very first time.

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.

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.

A new Jamaican feature film which has just finished production.....

Growing up in Concrete Jungle, one of the roughest ghetto's in Jamaica, the struggles of life was a dangerous task at hand for Singy.

Singy's childhood friend's are some of the most notorius killers of the Bangers Gang. As a youth Singy experienced the outbreak of violence and it's destructive eruption in the community between the Bangers and the devastated Mafia Gang. Because of the intense love Singy has for Dancehall music he decided to persue his musical career. In doing so Singy was seen as a major enemy through the eyes of the opposing side of the gangs.

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.