Synopsis

‘Africa Unite’ is a song in Bob Marley’s album, ‘Survival’, released in 1979, and it calls for Africa to be united. Bob Marley was a faithful believer in Rastafari, a religion that combines Ethiopian native religion and Christianity. Born in Jamaica and a descendant of Africans who were forced to migrate, he valued Africa, especially Ethiopia, as the root for his mind and body. In that sense, his remains were exhumed and buried again in a Rastafari cemetery in Ethiopia in 2005, and in February during the same year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a festival was held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bob Marley’s birth with his friends and families including his wife, Rita Marley. The festival was called ‘Africa Unite’. At this festival, which deserves to be called African ‘Woodstock’, over 300 thousand followers, musicians, and activists gathered and paid tribute to the spirit of Bob Marley, the Reggae hero, through a massive, 12-hour-long concert. The director of this film, Stephanie Black, once again revives the lessons from Bob Marley, not only through the highlights of the concert focusing on Bob Marley’s masterpieces but also through documentary footages of the painful history Africa had to go through during the 20th century, and discussions and interviews. (Chun Jin-su)

Director

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  • Stephanie Black
  • Stephanie Black studied the Film Studies Master's program at New York University. Her documentary debut, (1990) won Best Documentary and Best Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival in 1990, and was screened at various film festivals. Black has directed numerous TV programs and music videos.