Marley75: Rockers (1978) | De Balie

Op zondag 2 februari, de tweede dag van het Marley75 Film Festival, vertoont De Balie om 19:00 uur eenmalig de ultieme Jamaicaanse reggaeklassieker Rockers (1978)! Voor de hoofdfilm laten we ook nog de korte docu Pressing Matters in Jamaica (2017, 5′) zien.

Kan je niet op zondag 2 februari? Tijdens het Marley75 Film Festival vertonen we Rockers nog een keer, op zaterdag 15 februari in LantarenVenster!

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Marley75: Rockers (1978) | De Balie
Datum: Zondag 2 februari
Tijd: 19:00 uur
Venue: De Balie
Titel: Rockers
Regisseur: Theodoros Bafaloukos
Land: Jamaica
Jaar: 1978
Lengte: 100 min
Voorfilm: Pressing Matters in Jamaica (2017, 5′)
Tickets: binnenkort verkrijgbaar via de website van De Balie
Taal: (Jamaicaans) Engels met Engelse ondertiteling
Tickets: €11 (reguliere bezoekers), €8,50 (studenten, CJP-ers, stadspashouders en De Balie Cultuurpashouders), €0 (Cinnevillers), via http://bit.ly/marley75-rockers-debalie

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‘In the 1978 classic reggae film Rockers, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace swaggers about the Kingston, Jamaica, ghetto he calls home, dapping up all of his sidekicks, and patting some down for money owed. Immediately it’s apparent that while the famed Burning Spear drummer is slight of frame and of simple means, he’s a man of considerable style.’

Marjon Carlos, Vogue (October 2015)
www.vogue.com/article/rockers-film-movie-jamaica-reggae-music

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Rockers is a seminal Jamaican reggae-based movie starring many of the biggest Jamaican musicians of the 1970s. The hero of Rockers is Leeroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace, a gigging drummer who is struggling to make ends meet. Horsemouth decides to supplement his evening gigging income by purchasing a motorbike and selling records during the daytime. However, the plan quickly falls on hard ground when his bike is stolen by local gangsters and is badly beaten. The story then progresses to tell a Jamaican version of the Robin Hood story.

The crowning achievement of Rockers is to give an insight in to Jamaican life and culture in the 1970s. All of the main characters in Rockers are played by leading reggae stars of the era (including Burning Spear, Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs and Robbie Shakespeare) who all play themselves in the movie. Many other characters are played by residents of the local communities in which the film was set, including some scenes of Horsemouth’s family life which are filmed in his own home with his own wife and children.

The movie was shot entirely on location in Jamaica during summer of 1977, mostly filmed in the Trench Town community in Downtown Kingston. As such, Rockers gave an insight in to the lives of poor urban Jamaicans. Parts were also filmed in touristy Ocho Rios, providing a view of ‘how the other half live’ from a poor man’s perspective. Rockers naturally boasts an impressive soundtrack, including tracks from Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Third World and Bunny Wailer. Rockers, which was completed in the fall of 1978, was written and directed by Greek Director Theodoros Bafaloukos. The film is Bafaloukos’s first (and only) feature film. It became a monumental history of the golden age of reggae music.

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Op 6 februari 2020 zou Bob Marley 75 jaar zijn geworden en daarom organiseren wij het Marley75 Film Festival verspreid over verschillende venues in Amsterdam (en Rotterdam)! Van 1-20 februari slaan Caribbean Creativity, Melkweg Film, De Balie, Rialto, Studio/K, Filmhuis Cavia, Paradiso Noord – Tolhuistuin, Reggae Vibrations en LantarenVenster de handen ineen om de Jamaicaanse King of Reggae te eren. Tijdens het Marley75 Film Festival zetten we Marley, zijn muziek en zijn geboorteland in het zonnetje en vieren we zijn leven en legacy met premières, klassiekers en feestjes.