03/02/2011

Oscar and BAFTA winning British filmmaker Kevin Macdonald will direct the Bob Marley documentary Marley.

The film promises to be the ultimate, authorized documentary film on the life, legacy and global impact of the legendary singer, as it will be the first time ever that his family has authorized the use of their own private Bob Marley archives.

Apart from the multiple award-winning The Last King of Scotland [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Macdonald has won acclaim for his documentaries One Day In September and Touching the Void [+see also:
trailer
film profile], besides generating major buzz at Sundance for crowd-sourced documentary Life in a Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Tuff Gong Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment are producing, in association with Cowboy Films. Filming is taking place in Ghana, Japan and the UK, in addition to Jamaica and the US.

Macdonald said, “I was already intrigued by the Marley story but the way in which this film is developing, as we delve through the archive materials and interview key characters in his life, has surpassed my expectations. What made Bob tick is probably unanswerable but viewers will certainly feel that they know him a little better after seeing our documentary. I am grateful to the Marley family for entrusting me with their heritage.”

The film’s executive producers include Steve Bing, Chris Blackwell and Ziggy Marley, who said, “We went to Kevin initially as an acclaimed documentarian but what has been most important to the family is his obvious passion for and interest in my father’s life as a musician and person.”

Fortissimo Films is the international sales agent.

The film will release worldwide in the third quarter of 2011, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of Marley’s passing in 1981.