2022 marks Jamaica's 60th anniversary of independence, and the Rio Theatre is paying tribute to that milestone with a very special #MusicMonday double bill featuring the acclaimed documentary STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES (with filmmakers in attendance for Q&A!) and a 50th Anniversary screening of the groundbreaking cult-classic, THE HARDER THEY COME.

A hit on British TV and at select film festivals prior to the pandemic, documentary STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES opens a fascinating door into the creation of a musical form that changed the sound of popular music around the world, and throws fresh light on the colourful but often impoverished lives of the artists and musicians who created it.

Filmmakers - including music journalist Reshma B, Waël Kabbani, and director Mark James - in attendance for Q&A.

Fifty years on, THE HARDER THEY COME is still electric with the feeling of discovery. The epochal cultural moment that first brought reggae to the international stage, made Jimmy Cliff a star — and demonstrated how music can change the world. This SCARFACE-y blend of crime drama and musical tracks Cliff’s country-boy-in-search-of-fame through Jamaica under the guises of laborer, recording artist, convict, ganja dealer, and outlaw folk hero.

#MusicMonday, September 5
STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

(Break)

THE HARDER THEY COME
Movie 9:00 pm *Apx. start time. Please arrive on time.

STUDIO 17: THE LOST REGGAE TAPES (Mark James, 2019 / G / 90 mins) A newly discovered treasure trove of tapes from Studio 17, or Randy's located in downtown Kingston Jamaica, is the starting point for this remarkable story about a Chinese Jamaican family who helped create the music we now know as reggae.

THE HARDER THEY COME (Perry Henzell, 1972 / 103 mins / 18A) Wishing to become a successful Reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.