Words by Natalie Weiner—
Jamaican film Better Mus’ Come has garnered international attention for its unflinching portrayal of politically-driven gang violence in 1970s-era Kingston. Directed by Storm Saulter, it has won a number of different awards, including Best Feature at the Trinidad & Tobago and Bahamas International film festivals; Best Director at the Pan-African Film Festival; and Best Actor at the American Black Film Festival. Other Caribbean filmmakers, like Trinidad’s Damian Marcano, have followed in Saulter’s footsteps, using contemporary film to shed light on more little known (at least to international audiences) aspects of local Caribbean culture.
Despite its critical acclaim, up until today Better Mus’ Come has only been viewable at one-off screenings and short runs at independent cinemas. Now, however, you can watch it whenever, wherever — that’s right, it’s on Netflix.
We’ve been following this movie for a while — we sponsored the East Coast premiere of the film at Lincoln Center back in 2012 (check the webisode about it below!), and a Q&A following a series of New York screenings this past spring. The Q&A included the film’s stars, Sheldon Shepard of Jamaican dub poetry group NoMaddz, and model/actress/singer Nicole “Sky” Grey, who have been promoting the film alongside Saulter. For the cast and crew, the film was a labor of love — in Grey’s words, “an educational piece,” that explored an underrepresented historical topic in a new way. We have an exclusive interview with Saulter, as well as the film’s trailer below — check them out, then grab your laptop and a six-pack and watch the movie!