There were so few brand new music doc premieres at the Silverdocs festival this year that I didn’t even write my usual festival preview. And of course, the winning film for best music documentary was the rare one I haven’t hyped that had its U.S. premiere. So congrats to RiseUp, a classic 8 Mile, Rocky-like underdog story set in the underground music scene of Jamaica. Director Luciano Blotta tracks three artists in varying circumstances who all dream of becoming the island’s next iconic reggae figure. Lee “Scratch” Perry, Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar make appearances which will please those hip to the reggae scene.
The skinny on all things related to music documentaries: the concert films we love, the narrative docs that star our musical idols and the “mini-doc” DVD ephemera now in vogue. Even some scribblings on music used in documentaries. And the occasional ramble about copyrights and the filmmaking process.
I help produce, commission and acquire music docs at VH1 for our VH1 Rock Docs series. Find out more about me at www.warrencohen.com
