BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, February 02, 2014
THE American website atlantablackstar.com has compiled its list of the top nine Jamaican films, with Life and Debt by American Stephanie Black, topping the list.
The 2001 documentary, which examines the impact of globalisation on Jamaican manufacturers and farmers, beat Perry Henzell’s classic 1972 film, The Harder they Come and Storm Saulter’s Better Mus’ Come.
Black told Splash that although she is appreciative, there are reservations.
“The Harder They Come remains the number one Jamaican movie of all time,” she stated. “However sadly, Life and Debt is still all too relevant not only in Jamaica but throughout the world, as the economic imbalance of the fundamental principles of globalisation are the accepted norm,” she continued.
Starring reggae star Jimmy Cliff, The Harder They Come — a drama co-written by Henzell and Trevor Rhone — took second spot.
In third is Third World Cop the 1999 flick starring Paul Campbell, directed by Chris Browne and produced by Chris Blackwell of Island Jamaica Films.
Dancehall Queen, starring Audrey Reid as a street vendor struggling to raise two daughters, took fourth spot, with 1978′s Rockers by Theodoros Bafaloukos in fifth place.
Shottas, which starred Ky-Mani Marley and Spragga Benz, was sixth followed by Smile Orange and the Kevin MacDonald-directed documentary Marley in eighth.
Saulter’s Better Mus’ Come — a love story set in the political turmoil of 1970s Jamaica, rounded out the list.
Black first came to local attention with her documentary H2 Worker, which examined the plight of Jamaican farm workers. She says she is working on two documentaries similar to Life and Debt.
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Website lists Life and Debt tops
