Updated: Reggae Films

Why it stands out: Rockers is a love letter to the Kingston music scene of the late 70s. It features cameos from virtually every reggae legend alive at the time: Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Dillinger, Jacob Miller, and even a young Peter Tosh. The vibe is less violent than its predecessor and more focused on the Rasta ideals of unity, justice, and “having a little fun.” For pure musical power, no film beats Heartland Reggae . Directed by Janis and Alan Green, this is the definitive document of the One Love Peace Concert (1978). This was the historic event where Bob Marley brought together Jamaica’s feuding political leaders, Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP), on stage to hold hands.

Here is a journey through the key pillars of reggae cinema. No discussion of reggae films begins anywhere else. Directed by Perry Henzell, The Harder They Come is the Citizen Kane of the genre. Starring the legendary Jimmy Cliff as Ivanhoe Martin, a young country boy who moves to Kingston seeking fame as a singer but ends up a gun-running outlaw, the film is raw and revolutionary. reggae films

When you think of reggae, your mind likely drifts to the lazy, hypnotic bassline of a Bob Marley hit or the smoky dancehall moves of a Kingston sound system. But for decades, reggae has also had a powerful, albeit niche, presence on the silver screen. Why it stands out: Rockers is a love