Roots Block Reggae

CINEMA London

Roots Block Reggae
The Barbican Centre

London

Until March 30

by Shayla Lawson

The Baribican Centre of London serves up a tantalizing array of reggae cult classics in its Film Jamaica series. Film Jamaica runs parallel to the Barbican Theatre’s seasonal run of The Harder They Come, a musical adaptation of the groundbreaking seventies-era Jamaican feature starring legendary Jimmy Cliff. The Harder They Come tells the country-boy-meets-world story of a young musician who moves to Kingston with dreams of becoming a singer but quickly becomes an outlaw. The soundtrack features seminal reggae hits “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Many Rivers to Cross,” and the title track.

Wednesday March 28^th, Film Jamaica will premiere Rockers a documentary style exploration of the Robin Hood myth in roots music culture during Jamaica’s music industry heyday. Ted Bafaloukos directed the film in 1978; it runs 100 minutes, black-and-white, with English subtitles. Rockers plays at 20:40, tickets costs £8.50 for full price admission.