Queens of Sound
Austria 2006, 74 min

For the first time the feature length documentary film „QUEENS OF SOUND – A Herstory of Reggae and Dancehall" explores the long neglected female side of Reggae and Dancehall music in Jamaica. Three generations of women in the Jamaican music business tell us about their role in past and present, their first steps into the career, their struggle for acceptance in a male-dominated business, their life paths and big success. World-famous musicians such as Marcia Griffiths, Tanya Stephens, Sasha, Cecile, Chevelle Franklyn, Queen Ifrica, Macka Diamond and Lady G - just to name a few, as well as women behind the scenes, f.e. Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah (Rastafari activist, film-maker, author, journalist, broadcaster), Nordia Rose (hottest music video director in Jamaica), Jade Lee (artist management) or Sandra Joy Alcott (founder of JAFA – Jamaica Association of Female Artists), give us an understanding of Jamaica’s music scene  from a female point of view. The documentary highlights via in-depth interviews and spectacular performances the social, economic, religious, textual and individual aspects of Reggae and Dancehall culture. QUEENS OF SOUND was mainly filmed in Kingston/Jamaica as well as at concerts in Austria and Italy.

“I felt that it was more than time for a film about Reggae and Dancehall in which the women speak out. Plus I wanted to correct and challenge the one-sided negative image that especially Dancehall music has in mainstream media - in terms of violence, sexism and homophobia. QUEENS OF SOUND supplies once again the evidence that it is worth looking behind the surface.“
SANDRA KRAMPELHUBER, director.
 
 

(c) 2005 Queens of Sound/Philipp Kroll
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