Rockers + Q&A

Kilburn reggae historian and DJ Colin Brown will join us on stage to discuss the influence of Rockers and its immortal soundtrack on several generations of reggae musicians and lovers.

A sensation when it was first released in 1978, the reputation of Rockers has only grown over the last fifty years as perhaps the defining cinematic tribute to roots reggae and Kingston’s Trench Town, out of which it came. Featuring a who’s who of Jamaica’s greatest reggae artists, and set to a classic soundtrack, Rockers follows Horsemouth (Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace), a session drummer struggling to make his musical skills pay.

Tired of being ripped off by the forces of Babylon, he buys a motorbike with a plan to deliver the latest vinyl straight from the pressing plants to the record shops and buck the endless exploitation. But when the bike is stolen, Horsemouth and his fellow musicians discover there’s a mafia running a serious racket of stolen property. They concoct a brazen plan: liberate the goods in the name of Jah people. This screening of Rockers will be presented in a brand new, high-definition 4K digital restoration that must be experienced in the cinema!

Rockers is preceded by a short film:

Dadli: Directed by Shabier Kirchner, Elise Tyler | 15 minutes

Co-directed and shot by acclaimed Antiguan cinematographer Shabier Kirchner (who shot Steve McQueen’s Small Axe omnibus of features), Dadli (2018) is an immersive, impressionistic portrait of life on Kirchner’s home island of Antigua, as seen through the eyes of Tiquan, a young boy.

Part of our film season, Celebrating the Caribbean on Screen. Click here to see more.