“The Jamaican Situation” is the name of the short film on which the Jamaican singer is working Protoje together with his team and which they hope to release in the middle of next year.
In that context, Last week the artist released the self-titled EP, further characterized as “Side A”, a preview of 5 songs that will be part of the film's soundtrack.
“‘The Jamaican Situation’ tells the story of a man, a teacher, who returns home and fights for his identity amid the complexities of modern Jamaican life. My music is intricately intertwined with this narrative, enriching the dialogue and themes explored throughout the film”, the musician stated in a statement.
In an interview with Reggaeville, the interpreter of “Who Knows” delved into this production that is being developed and that will see the light in 2025.
“It's a drama. It can be called a short film, can be called a pilot episode, we are still creating, so until we finish creating it it's like we're making it open. And it's a drama about Jamaica. On why Jamaica is the way it is”, he explained.
Protoje mentioned that “The Jamaican Situation” It's a paragraph from Walter Rodney's book “The Groundings With My Brothers” and that the idea of this audiovisual production aims to show the reality of the island.
“It's about showing Jamaica simply because of what's happening now, what happened in the past, the history we have behind us. I'm putting it together in an entertaining and educational way that I think ties into the music. (…) music has a role to play in it, where the lines of some of my songs are dialogues from the movie”, he raised.
Likewise, He declared that his love for cinema led him to venture into it in this way.
“I have so much love for cinema that I want to try it too”
“I just try to have creative ways to make music. And my love for cinema is the only thing that is on par with music. Someone once said that if you love something enough, you will always try. I have so much love for cinema that I want to try it too”, admitted.
Regarding the work team, Protoje said he is working alongside Only, renowned music video director; Fernando Hevia, Spanish audiovisual director, both from the producer Movie.
They are also part Rob Maylor, who wrote and produced the film 2018 “Sprinter”, who is in the production and a young writer named Rebecca “Becx” Williams, who wrote a short film called Out Of Many in 2020.
While fans wait for the premiere of this film, you can listen to side A of “The Jamaican Situation” here.