Shottas

Biggs and Wayne grow up together on the streets of Kingston and, still children, rob a truck and shoot the driver. Years later one of them is in America, the two reunite, and they build the same business in Miami. Then they are deported to Jamaica and it all begins again. The interesting thing here is the distribution history. Shot on a very small budget, an unfinished cut leaked and circulated as a bootleg, watched hand to hand across the Caribbean and the diaspora for years. Its official limited release came only in 2006, long after it had become a cult item. Ky-Mani Marley, Spragga Benz and Paul Campbell lead a cast drawn largely from music, and the film is in Jamaican English throughout. Its flaws: low production values, ragged editing, and no balance struck between violence and character, with the ending arriving far too fast. Who it is for: viewers who like Jamaican crime films and dancehall culture. Who it is not for: anyone wanting technical polish and depth.