A little history of Jamaica's movie industry

For many non-Jamaicans ‘Cool Runnings’ a Disney film based on Jamaica’s first bobsled team immediately comes to mind.  This humorous film brought a new dimension of Jamaica to audiences worldwide. 

But unlike that film, films by Jamaican producers have been primarily about the darker side of Jamaican life. Possibly the most iconic of the big screen movies is ‘The Harder They Come’ (1972), which was released in the USA over 40 years ago. It tells the story of a young man trying to get ahead in life through whatever means possible. This action packed film set the stage for a series of subsequent films on gang warfare. 

There are also the occasional romance and documentaries, but action movies dominate.  Here are the names of a few better known Jamaican films:
Rockers (1978), Babylon (1980), Countryman (1982), Dance Hall Queen (1997), Third World Cop (1999), Life & Debt(2001), Shottas (2002), One Love (2003), Rude Boy: the Jamaican Don (2003), What Goes Around (2008), Better Mus Come (2010), Gett’A Life (2011), Bob Marley:

The Making of a Legend (2011), Destiny (2014), Shottas Next Generation – Rocky Road (2016), Sons of Kingston (2016)

For more visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=745IE_Gnlko

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Jamaica

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20181021/reel-jamaicas-growing-billion-dollar-film-industry

Also visit our art gallery:  https://www.experiencejamaique.com/product_gallery

Updated June 2020