Better Mus' Come

Jamaica’s long-brewing political conflict between left- and right-wing factions boiled over into violence around the 1976 election. Better Mus Come is set during these troubling times, the real-world response to which was the famous 1978 One Love Peace Concert, orchestrated by reforming gangsters. Better Mus Come connects the dots between Cold War politics and the politics of the street gangs, with hero Ricky attempting to navigate a path between his responsibilities as a father, community leader, poet and gangster. A rare insight into the street soul of a still-young nation. Screening with Nile Saulter’s short film Fever Dream.

Honestly, community relations is key in Jamaica. …We hired a lot of the community to be extras, security and personal assistants and that is one way of avoiding conflict. When you give someone in these communities something to do, they’re down because you’re giving them pretty cool work and they feel like they’re part of the movement. Because of that, a lot of people in the Sandy Park community, where we mostly worked, are looking into film and working as personal assistants in art departments, shooting their own videos because they have been through the whole film with us.

Director Storm Saulter, from an interview with Fader