‘Rise Up’ is a  movie/documentary written & directed by Luciano Blotta, an independent Argentinian filmmaker.

Rise Up it’s a journey to the heart of Jamaica. The movie showcases and tells the story of Jamaica’s underground music focusing on the struggles, the dreams and  the aspirations of three young artists.

The movie RiseUp features artist Turbulence, a charismatic lyrical master from the ghetto in Kingston; Ice, a songwriter from uptown St Andrew and Kemoy, a timid but very gifted  songstress from Clarendon.

This movie is  totally fresh, it’s packed good Riddims too { check RiseUP’s website for a sneak peak } and the director  goes close and personal to the protagonists and their story. The style is simple but original and authentic.

Rise Up took almost four years to be completed and it’s inspired by and it features the graffiti and  the walls in Kingston, Clarendon‘s views, Mobay beaches and Dancehall parties scattered all over the island portraying beauty, violence, poverty, inequality ,talent, music, dreams of the youths of Jamrock.

Blotta also features veteran Jamaican musicians and celebrates and honors Reggae music and his pioneers ,and between them legends as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Sly Dunbar Robbie Shakespeare.

The word Premiere for the movie is been the International Documentary  Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), followed by a sneak preview  at True/False Film Festival in Missouri where it received the Top Ten Audience Award.

This movie has been racking up awards, official selections for world-renowned festivals, rave reviews and screening in over 20 countries and is going to be finally screen also in Jamaica on Sunday 26 October 2010  at the historic Carib Cinema in Kingston and opens in theaters island-wide the following day.

RiseUp already won Best Music Documentary Award from the Silver Docsan American Film Institute, Discovery Channel Film Festival.Earlier this year Rise Up was also chosen by New York’s Lincoln Center Film Society to celebrate Black History Month the flick was broadcasted by many networks, including BBC.

Born in Argentina and based in Los Angeles, Blotta grew up loving Bob Marley‘s music. When he was a student at the University of Miami, he was invited to Jamaica where he discovered the music of some of the upcoming Jamaican artists.

Blotta and his genuine approach  created some sort of Contemporary Masterpiece about Jamaica. Make sure to check this movie out soon if you like Reggae and Dancehall movies and flicks, because  this is is going to become a classic in the years to come, as “The Harder they come”  or “Shotta”.

Don’t be lazy and go to the movie theaters (I also heard of a party in TelAviv with the film crew Sunday night in Kingston).

On an island where reggae is considered the voice of the people and an outlet for survival, RiseUp follows three aspiring artists who seek to “rise up” from obscurity for their chance at success.

This documentary is unlike any documentary about Jamaica as it takes the viewer off the beaten path far from any tourist attractions!