Film Forum

DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD

Franco Rosso · 1979 · UK SEVENTY-SEVEN · 46 min

“Brothers an sisters rocking / A dread beat pulsing fire...” opens Dread Beat an Blood, the 1975 poem—and album—by the Jamaican-born, British-based dub reggae artist and activist, Linton Kwesi Johnson. He created the genre of dub poetry—militant, passionate verse detailing the struggle for Black liberation in Britain, set to heavy rhythms. The 1979 documentary portrait, DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD, directed by Franco Rosso (BABYLON), captures Johnson in the recording studio, performing live poetry, and protesting the wrongful imprisonment of Black Briton George Lindo. Beautifully restored by the British Film Institute, this is its U.S. theatrical premiere. PLUS Linton Kwesi Johnson In Concert The rarely-shown 1985 performance featuring Johnson with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band (the backing group on his seminal 1984 album, Making History), filmed for Channel 4 in the UK.