Dogs
barking in the distance. Birds chirping nearby. A man walking through the mist,
surrounded by lush vegetation. A distinctive vibrato singing “Speak Softly,
Love” over it all.
So
begins Inna de Yard, a documentary that can safely be called a love
poem to reggae music - or to the “soul of Jamaica”, as the film
is sub-titled with an obvious play on words.
 |
| The poster for Inna de Yard. |
Directed
by Peter Webber (whose first feature was the acclaimed Girl with a Pearl
Earring), the documentary comes at a timely moment: reggae was inscribed
last November on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Before
opening across Germany on June 20, the film was screened in Paris at the UN
agency’s headquarters to a full house of spectators, many of whom seemed to
know the artists and the songs. Several stood up to dance when the musicians
performed after the projection.
Inna
de Yard takes us into
the lives of pioneer reggae musicians who have come together to record music in
a hilltop studio. This is a weathered, old house that offers breath-taking
views of the capital Kingston. It is filled with stacks of vinyl records spilling
out of decaying jackets, while an ancient piano sits on the porch.
The
man walking through the mist at the beginning is a piano tuner, who tells viewers
that the instrument is sometimes infested with insects, but he needs to get it
ready for the musicians. We watch as he uses bits of wire and other objects to
do just that.
Then
the music begins in earnest. We are introduced to the artists - Ken Boothe,
Kiddus I, Winston McAnuff, Cedric Myton, The Viceroys and Judy Mowatt - as
Boothe’s vibrato accompanies aerial shots of the spectacular landscape.
 |
The four main artists of "Inna de Yard" (L-R): Cedric Myton,
Winston McAnuff, Ken Boothe and Kiddus I.
(Photo copyright: N. Baghir Maslowski)
|
Kiddus,
who appeared in the 1978 cult film “Rockers”, explains in his deep, pleasant
voice that the project is “an amalgamation of elders playing acoustic music”, and
McAnuff adds that the aim is to capture the music “in its virgin state”.
Mowatt,
looking like an urban goddess in her patterned robe, says that the house up in
the hills “felt like heaven” when she first visited.
In
a previous era, Mowatt performed with the I-Threes, the trio of backing
vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers. But beyond her presence, the extended
Marley clan is not in focus here. This documentary is about the other
trailblazers and about the sources of the music.
“Some
countries have diamonds. Some countries have pearls. Some countries have oil.
We have reggae music,” says bass player Worm in the film.
With
footage from the Sixties and Seventies, the documentary recalls the
beginning of ska and rocksteady, showing how the music developed, influenced by
American rhythm and blues.
 |
| One of Judy Mowatt's early albums, "Only a Woman". |
“We
paid attention to what was happening outside our shores and we amalgamated (that)
with what was happening here,” Mowatt tells viewers. “The 1960s was the
romantic era, but the 1970s was the conscious era.”
She
said that reggae “talked about the realities of life” and that “all of Jamaica
was living the songs that were being sung” - songs about political violence,
hardships, and police repression of Rastafarians, for instance. It was the
“golden age” of the music.
The
documentary gives each of the artists space to reminisce even as it describes
their lives now. “We miss everything about those days,” says Cedric Myton, a playful,
lively spirit in the film who knows he’s “going up the ladder” at 70-plus years
old.
During
one of the most memorable scenes, we see him heading out in a boat and joking
around with fishermen as he sings “Row, Fisherman, Row”, in his iconic
falsetto. The film cuts from the sea to the studio in the hills, then to Myton enlightening
viewers on the origins of the lyrics.
Like
many of his peers, Myton started out in the music business with what seemed a
bright future, but troubles in the United States - related to “herb charges” -
meant he couldn’t perform there. In addition, all the musicians have had
experience with unscrupulous record producers, or “thieves” as Myton calls
them.
 |
The musicians and film director discuss their art at UNESCO.
(Photo: McKenzie)
|
“We’re
not giving up because we know there are better days ahead,” Myton says. “But
financially it’s been a struggle.”
Some
of his fellow artists have had more personal struggles. Winston McAnuff lost
his son Matthew, also a singer, in 2012, and his description of the “senseless”
death is among the most moving sections of the film. So is the story of younger
musician Derajah, who lost his sister to gun violence. We see them working
through their grief via the music.
“It’s
a message for healing,” Kiddus says.
The
“Inna de Yard” project puts the pioneers in contact with younger musicians who
perform with them in the studio and on tour, and the film profiles these
artists as well. “We learn from the younger guys and they learn a lot from us,”
Kiddus comments.
Mowatt
also records with two younger singers, the fiery Jah 9 and her colleague
Rovleta. Speaking passionately, Jah 9 gives an introduction to the history of
the island and the role that the Maroons and their legendary leader Nanny
played in fighting against slavery. Then
she joins Mowatt and Rovleta in the studio to sing Mowatt’s “first solo anthem”
- an intense track called “Black Woman”, and a call to stay strong.
 |
| Filmmaker Peter Webber. (Photo: McKenzie) |
“It’s
a love splash,” Mowatt characterises the session, describing the affection and
solidarity between the three.
Accompanying the individual musicians to their childhood homes, the film also carries us through unspoilt areas of Jamaica -
waterfalls, natural diving pools, forested Maroon country. But it doesn’t shy
away from showing poor sections of the capital Kingston where the music was
born, or the environmental degradation of some beaches. We also get a glimpse
into eroticised dancehall culture, during a segment in a bar.
Film
director Webber was not interested, however, in showing scenes “that would cause
eyes to pop in the West,” as he told SWAN in an interview following the screening in
Paris. Webber added that the restraint in filming certain aspects of the
culture was “deliberate” as he didn’t “feel the need to labour the point”.
Because
of this approach, viewers get a sense of the love and respect for the music,
unlike some sensationalist portrayals of Jamaican arts.
Webber
said he was first introduced to the island’s music as a teenager in London and
became “a huge fan of reggae”. Years later, he was working with French producer
Gaël Nouaille on a Netflix project when Nouaille told him about the “Inna de
Yard” musicians and their recordings.
“I
had never been to Jamaica before, partly because I had a Jamaica in my head,
and I knew that if I got on a plane, I would have a touristic experience and it
wouldn’t live up to what I imagined,” Webber said. “I didn’t want to spend two
weeks on a beach in Negril. But this was a different way to go.”
When
he got to the island and met the musicians, he initially wasn’t sure there was
a feature film to be made, and he questioned whether he could produce a documentary
that would “appeal to a more general audience” than traditional fans of reggae
or dub.
He
said it was also important to meet younger musicians. “I was wondering: are
these guys like the last of the Mohicans?” he joked.
Asked
why he was the one to make this film, Webber said: “I did it because of my love
and enthusiasm and because I had an opportunity to do it. You may wonder if the
world needs another middle-aged white man dropping into Jamaica, but I see
myself as a medium. I’m a channel, and I basically put my technical skills and
my creativity at their disposal to tell their story. It’s not a film of cultural
appropriation.”
He
said the documentary developed based on the “spine of the story” - the
musicians recording an album “up in this house in the hills”.
The
house is indeed at the centre of the documentary, but from there, Webber and
the musicians take us on a journey: back to the past, around the island, to
concerts in Paris, and into the soul of reggae and Jamaica. And Webber does so
with an artist’s touch, reflecting his background as a student of art history. –
A.M. / SWAN
Production: Bolsalino / Wagram Films / Le Pacte. Opens in French cinemas July 10.
Follow SWAN on Twitter: @mckenzie_ale
