The First Rasta

Synopsis

Going far beyond the standard imagery of Rasta—ganja, reggae, and dreadlocks—this cultural history offers an uncensored vision of a movement with complex roots and the exceptional journey of a man who taught an enslaved people how to be proud and impose their culture on the world. In the 1920s Leonard Percival Howell and the First Rastas had a revelation concerning the divinity of Haile Selassie, king of Ethiopia, that established the vision for the most popular mystical movement of the 20th century, Rastafarianism. Although jailed, ridiculed, and treated as insane, Howell, also known as the Gong, established a Rasta community of 4,500 members, the first agro-industrial enterprise devoted to producing marijuana. In the late 1950s the community was dispersed, disseminating Rasta teachings throughout the ghettos of the island. A young singer named Bob Marley adopted Howell's message, and through Marley's visions, reggae made its explosion in the music world.

Main Cast

The Abyssinians

Themselves

Age : N/A | Popularity : 0%

Leonard Percival Lowell

Self (archive footage)

Age : N/A | Popularity : 0%

Marcus Garvey

Self (archive footage)

Age : N/A | Popularity : 0%

Max Romeo

Self

Age : N/A | Popularity : 0%

Crew

Department	Role	Name
Directing	Director	Hélène Lee Christophe Farnarier
Production	Executive Producer	Alexandre Perrier Percy Yip Tong
Writing	Novel	Hélène Lee
	Scenario Writer	Hélène Lee
Editing	Editor	Nini Ranaivoarivony
Sound	Sound Engineer	Fred Gremeaux Jean-Christophe Caron
Camera	Director of Photography	Christophe Farnarier
Department	Role	Name

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