REBEL DREAD
Legendary British filmmaker, DJ, musician and cultural commentator Don Letts was born into the cross-section of two different, radically creative and explosive cultures — the Jamaican roots heritage of his Windrush generation parents and the desperate post-war climate of working-class British youth. Inspired by the 1972 classic THE HARDER THEY COME, Letts began filming his friends in the nascent UK punk scene with a Super-8 camera in the 1970s, making unexpected connections between the London punk and reggae crowds and injecting Afro-Caribbean music into the inner circles of artists like The Clash, Johnny Rotten and The Slits (whom he briefly managed). After directing iconic music videos including "London Calling" for The Clash, "Pass the Dutchie" for Musical Youth and more than 300 others, including for Public Image Ltd. and Bob Marley, Letts became an award-winning feature director with the 1997 cult classic DANCEHALL QUEEN and 2003's ONE LOVE, starring Idris Elba. Through a combination of never-before-seen archival material shot by Letts himself as he chronicled the early days of punk — including footage of The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten and more from his private archive — plus intimate interviews with collaborators, colleagues and famous fans, REBEL DREAD weaves a complex visual tapestry anchored by Letts himself, telling his own wild, unfiltered story. Official Selection, 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam. DIR/SCR/PROD William E. Badgley; PROD Phil Hunt, Mark Vennis. UK, 2020, color, 87 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 87 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, June 18, 2022
Genre: Documentary - music
