Peter Webber: ‘Making this film helped me through a dark place’
Director Peter Webber was born in 1968 and grew up in west London. His 2003 feature Girl With a Pearl Earring, starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, received three Oscar and 10 Bafta nominations. In 2007, he directed Hannibal Rising, a prequel to Silence of the Lambs. Following music documentaries about Schubert and Wagner earlier in his career, Webber’s new film Inna de Yard focuses on a group of veteran reggae artists – including 70s star Ken Boothe and Cedric Myton from the Congos – revisiting their glory days in the hills above Kingston, Jamaica.
What compelled you to make a reggae documentary?This film really went back to passions and enthusiasms I’ve had since I was a teenager. What really hooked me into reggae was listening to the first Clash album and hearing their cover version of Police and Thieves. From there, I went to a record shop in Notting Hill and was guided to the Junior Murvin original. That was the beginning of a love affair with Jamaican music that continues to this day.
Inna de Yard is the name of a loose Jamaican reggae collective that tours together. How did you hear about it? From a French producer on my previous film, Pickpockets. He told me about this small group of reggae musicians getting together in a clapboard house outside Kingston. It’s not really a studio: they just stick some microphones up there and everyone comes along with acoustic instruments. I’ve filmed a fair few recording studios over the years and, frankly, they’re terrible, antiseptic spaces, but this is an amazing place with a big deck overlooking a valley. A lot of these guys learned to play in their backyard, so it’s like returning to their roots – there’s something very pure and elemental and joyful about it.
This film has been compared to Buena Vista Social Club. Is that useful? Yes, because it must be the most successful music documentary of recent years and I’m a big fan of Wim Wenders. There are some important differences, though: the world at large didn’t know about Cuban music, so there was a great moment of discovery, whereas the world does know about reggae. Also, in Buena Vista Social Club, you’re partly seeing it through Ry Cooder’s eyes. I wanted this story to be told by these musicians in their own voices. I’m just there as a conduit, to help structure and organise. I didn’t want anybody from outside the island talking about it. It’s by these people, for these people.
One of the musicians in the film says: “Some countries have diamonds, some have oil, we have reggae music.” But of course it’s no guarantee of wealth…Not at all. They all have cautionary tales about their dealings with record companies, and most of these guys are making money from touring rather than record sales. But somehow
they’ve managed to keep going, despite run-ins with the law, being ripped off and suffering death and disaster in their family lives. I really responded to their strength and dignity, because I’d just been through a trauma myself: my younger brother had died suddenly, unexpectedly, during the production. In retrospect, making this film was quite a healing process. It helped me through a dark time in my life.
Reggae tends to be quite maledominated. Was it difficult finding women to appear in the film?The issue with this older generation of musicians is that far fewer women are still performing in the way that these guys are. A lot of them have retired, or are living abroad, so it took us a while to find someone who was prepared to work with us. And Judy [Mowatt, a backing vocalist for the Wailers], when I finally got to her, was fantastic. Of course, Jamaica is a very traditional culture, with a lot of old-fashioned patriarchal attitudes. But times are changing and if you have a listen to Jah9 [the 36year-old Jamaican singer Janine Cunningham], you can hear the strength of her voice and the sharpness of her opinions.
What are your favourite music documentaries? In terms of reggae, Rockers and The Harder They Come are a must for anybody interested in Jamaican culture. And there’s a great film just been reissued called Babylon, about the English reggae scene. Country Man is really interesting too.
I notice it says “doom-monger” in your Twitter bio. Explain.That went up because a few years ago I made a film called Ten Billion, which is the world’s most depressing eco-film. But I’m going to try to be a bit more inspirational in future, so I’m removing the doommonger tag.
When you’re not working, how do you amuse yourself?Well, I listen to lots of reggae – and the associated recreational activities. And travel for me is a great balm, especially at the moment when Britain feels like a toxic place to be. I’m looking forward to starting a new project out of Britain, especially if it means I could be away at the end of October.
What’s in the pipeline?There’s a few things. One is a sequel to my Netflix film Pickpockets, where the action moves from Colombia to Spain. I’m also working on a post-apocalyptic drama set in the UK, based on the short story Diary of an Interesting Year by Helen Simpson.
Inna de Yard is released in cinemas on 30 August. It will premiere at the Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House on 21 August. For more info visit innadeyard.film
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Nigel Jones, Ealing, London
Melody (1971)
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Hue and Cry (1947)
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Sue Cox, SE London
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
The first Studio Ghibli film, about a boy and girl searching for a legendary floating castle“I’m enamoured with most if not all of [Hayao Miyazaki’s] work. Laputa: Castle in the Sky has been a particular favourite for me with regards to the direction and purpose of tech. Specifically with regards to the sky robots that are gentle, empathetic and eco-conscious, but also awesome, powerful and destructive in their capabilities when human life was at threat. ”Tailored_Construct
Bugsy Malone (1976)
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Something of Value (1957)
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The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
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