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Journey to Jah
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Journey to Jah
IDFA 2013

Journey to Jah

Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer
Germany, Switzerland
2013
90 min
International Premiere
Festival history

The German singer Gentleman and his Italian counterpart Alborosie are two of the most important reggae artists in Europe. In 1999, Alborosie went on a two-week trip to Jamaica. He’s been living there for 14 years now and plays to enthusiastic Jamaican audiences together with Gentleman. paints a varied picture of the importance and spiritual meaning of reggae on the Caribbean island, where music is used to fight violence, sexism and poverty. As Alborosie says, “God lives here, but Satan too.” For seven years, filmmakers Noël Dernesch and Moritz Springer followed the two "Jamaicanized" artists on their flight from Western consumerism and their search for the roots of the Rastafarians and reggae music, and for a way to give meaning to their lives. Several musicians on the island support them along the way. They play together on the streets and are faced with the joyful, but also harsh reality of life on the island. Footage focusing on their lives as musicians is interspersed with interviews and stylized montages of scenes from everyday life. The result is a kaleidoscopic impression of a world where music serves as a path to unity.

Credits
Director
Co-production
    PiXiU Films GmbH
    PiXiU Films GmbH
World Sales
    Rise and Shine World Sales
    Rise and Shine World Sales
Screening copy
    Port au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion GmbH
    Port au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion GmbH