I’m extremely proud to announce that The Australian Centre for the Moving Image is hosting a public screening of The Upsetter within a Jamaican film program called “Yard! Dub and Reggae on Film” which includes the classic Jamaican film Rockers, a film that has had a deep impact on myself as a filmmaker since I first saw it on VHS as a teenager.

Rockers was shot on beautiful 35mm film and the program guide has a terrific description:

There’s more to this juicy morsel than just great music and fantastic humour. Real-life reggae star Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace buys a motorbike to kick-start his record selling business. But when it’s stolen, a rambling quest begins in which Jamaican heavyweight musicians amble between spliffs to recover the item.

In what feels more like documentary than anything, there’s a disarming ease in this film which is always engaging and fun to watch. It features a parade of local identities including Gregory Isaacs, Burning Spear’s Winston Rodney, Robbie Shakespeare and a crew of many more who are obviously enjoying themselves in this random slice of life. Of special note here is the riotous scene in a record store which is so filled with ‘business’ from the extras that you can watch over and over and still not get it all.

Aided by the thick and ubiquitous smoke from the Island’s own Cannabis Sativa (pot) that wafts through every scene, it’s as if you were in the film yourself. Here, the actual mission in retrieving the bike often takes second place to other smoke-induced impulses and humbugging, which like a tropical breeze just blows here and there.

Rockers is a close cousin to another one of my all time favorite films Wild Style - the inspiration for my first film Bomb the System. Both Rockers and Wild Style began as documentations of a musical culture (Reggae / Hip Hop) but evolved into narrative features with meandering storyline. Both films also feature musicians in lead roles (and in the case of Wild Style - graffiti writers). Acting, plot, dialogue and technical aspects take a back seat to atmosphere, style and incredible music. I highly recommend both Rockers and Wild Style. And shout out to Charlie Ahearn.

I digress. Here’s the program description of The Upsetter complete with a link to purchase tickets.

The Upsetter

Unclassified 18+
Ethan Higbee & Adam Bhala Lough, 95 mins, USA, 2008, Digital Betacam. Source: Ethan Higbee.

From musician to record producer, from sage to eccentric, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is one of the giants of the reggae scene. Regarded as the creator of the dub sound, Perry walks a fine line between genius and madness and this acclaimed documentary pulls no punches in exploring the extraordinary career of this music icon.

Utilising all manner of concert, home and archival footage, the documentary has many textures and hues as an erratic course is charted through Perry’s life and work. His life of course is inseperable from the music and like many artists who’ve put themselves at the front of their form, the path is a minefield of great triumph and great tribulation. Perry’s life is no exception. From the heady days of producing and writing with Bob Marley during his trajectory to international superstar, to a magnet for the darker side of dread culture, to a decade of self-imposed exile in the UK, Perry’s journey has been anything but a stroll - and you’d have to say he has the scars to prove it.

It’s obvious from the film that Perry’s mind is so full of stream-of-consciousness that Perry himself finds it impossible to contain, calling on random stimuli in his verbal communication, which moves from the profound to the incomprehensible. Likewise his dub sounds embrace all manner of ‘found’ stimuli and stream-of-consiousness material - almost as if there’s simply not enough in the instruments themselves.

The result? The fullest of music and the fullest of lives.

Sat 23 Jan 2010, 7pm & Sat 30 Jan 2010, 9pm

Buy Tickets.