Tricoast Entertainment Releases New 4k Version Of 1970s Bob Marley Reggae Sunsplash Music Documentary

With the virtual staging of Reggae Sunsplash looming for month end, Tricoast Entertainment has announced the release of a re-made Bob Marley Reggae Sunsplash music documentary, targeted to the American film market.

The film is a tribute to Marley, who is said to have made the festival the “phenomenon that it became” after he performed at the second staging of the event in 1979.

The original version of the motion picture which was released in 1980, and can be seen on YouTube, was done by German-born director Stefan Paul, who is most noted for directing two renowned Bob Marley concert films, Bob Marley: Live In Concert and Bob Marley: The Legend Live, as well as Bongo Man in 1982, which featured Jimmy Cliff.

After the first staging of Reggae Sunsplash, Paul had traveled to Jamaica to film the second showing and to interview the performers and Jamaican citizens about Reggae’s appeal and importance from the point-of-view of the Rastafarian community, which, it was said, was rarely included in Reggae documentaries back then.

As a consequence, the film had included interviews with the artistes on the economic plight of Jamaicans and the Reggae music’s effect on the island and the rest of the world.

Last week, Tricoast Entertainment described its new documentary which comes 40 years after the original was released, as a “new 4k version of this iconic 70’s music documentary, which will also feature additional performances which were done by Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Third World Band, Eek-a-Mouse, and Steel Pulse”.

“This gem of a film has been out of circulation for 40 years and has never been digitally released,” the California-based entity said in a statement.

According to Tricoast, the Stephen Paul-directed film “features never-before-seen footage of Bob Marley’s last live performance at the Reggae Sunsplash festival in Montego Bay”.

“Set against the backdrop of Jamaica during a tumultuous period of political and social strife, we see the transformative nature of Reggae music and the role Bob Marley played in uniting the country,” it noted.

The trailer of the film shows Peter Tosh stating during an interview that: “if Reggae music is not accepted universally around the four corners of the earth, then what’s the use of a music?  The music was made for people” and Bob Marley explaining that: “Reggae is a music created by Rasta people and it carry earth force.”

In the meantime, Reggae Sunsplash 2020 is set for Friday November 27 and Saturday November 28.  The line-up so far, for the event includes show-stoppers Capleton, Agent Sasco, Romain Virgo, Masicka, and Barrington Levy.

The event, which was initially set for November 6 to 8, at Grizzly’s Plantation Cove, in Priory, St. Ann, was changed from its physical venue to virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May this year, the organizers had contended that even though they, like the patrons, were looking forward to the event’s grand return after 14 years,  due to the global outbreak of the infection, hosting the event in November, as was originally planned, ‘would not be in everyone’s best interest’.   However, two weeks ago the owners of the show Guardsman Group, appeared to have had a change of heart and decided to stage a virtual show.

According to the organizers, there will also be a one of a kind viewing experience at over 20 venues across Jamaica being offered by wine distributor Betco will, in keeping with COVID-19 protocols and the stipulated curfew hours.

The presenting sponsors are the Jamaica Tourist Board and Visa, while the additional sponsors are KFC, FLOW, Rumbar, Dragon, BetCo, Clear Sounds and Kaboom.

Reggae Sunsplash was conceptualized by marketers Peter Martin and Associates and local public relations firm Berl Francis and Company.  At the time it was produced by Synergy Productions, a company made up of Ronnie Burke, Tony Johnson, John Wakeling and Don Green.

The festival was staged to increase the numbers of guests in hotel rooms in Montego Bay outside of the winter tourist season, as during those times, hotel operators would have to close their properties and temporarily lay off or rotate staff, especially in the summer months, as a result of low occupancy levels.

Reggae Sunsplash was staged each summer between 1978 and 1992 in Montego Bay at Jarrett Park as well as the Bob Marley Entertainment Centre.  The year 1980 was the exception when it was held in Kingston.   Later on the event moved around the island between 1993 and 1996, with one-offs being staged in 1998 and 2006.