Screening with short film Shades of Shadows.
Thirty years after Bob Marley’s death, Jamaica continues to be on top of the world-wide music scene. Reggae has evolved to produce a new genre, Dancehall. Anywhere, at any time, tunes created by artistes from the ghetto fill the island’s soundscape. They tell the story of a society whose reality is marked by violence and poverty. Through the protagonists of this documentary viewers get to know Dancehall and what it is about.
A diverse group of individuals, including Yellowman, the original King of Dancehall, talk of the context in which these songs are born and what the phenomena represents in their life and the lives of many supporters. The film presents and represents the urban street culture and lifestyle that fuels and is born out of the new music of young Jamaicans, and captures the elements of dance which form an integral part of nightlife in Kingston.
Artistes, dancers, music producers, schoolchildren and the youths on the street explain the content of the polemic Dancehall lyrics and the lifestyle created by the music. The Gully – Gaza clash between supporters of Vybz Kartel and Mavado, the controversial subject of “Daggering” and the reasons why people bleach their skin, are all explored in this documentary.
Shades of Shadows
Director: Amir George
2015 | USA | 6 min | MN Premiere
Commissioned by Chicago Film Archives. “Shades of Shadows” is collaboration between Amir George and psychedelic soul band The O'Mys that delves into spiritual mysticism and ritual sacrifice. Created with all archival footage, the characters in the film seek to manifest a better self.