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Marcus Mosiah Garvey, political activist and Jamaica’s first national hero, is the subject of the short film Mosiah, which is directed by Jirard and written by Samuel Lee Fudge. Fudge also portrays the national hero, which is the first depiction of Garvey as the main character in his own story.
The responsibility of telling the story on film for the first time was not something taken lightly by the film-makers, who sought an opportunity to “change the misguided American perspective on who Marcus Mosiah Garvey was”.
As part of the film’s worldwide tour, it was screened last Saturday, 109 years to the day of Garvey’s lecture at the Burchell Memorial Baptist Church in Montego Bay. In celebration of the anniversary, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) gathered at that same location.
Mosiah gives both a look into Garvey’s psyche, as well as a gripping courtroom drama. It sees Garvey as plagued by nightmares and anxieties, tied to his childhood in Jamaica, and his new-found position of purpose and leadership. It also takes the allegations against Garvey and plays them out in a legal battle, with the film itself posing a defence for the legacy of the late Marcus Garvey. Mosiah depicts the persecution by federal authorities who infiltrate privately held UNIA meetings, which ultimately led to Garvey’s wrongful arrest and conviction.
The short film has become extraordinarily relevant. Less than 24 hours after the screening event, it was reported that Garvey received a presidential pardon from former President Joe Biden for the very conviction of mail fraud that is the subject of the film. It’s an unprecedented sequence of events that serves as vindication for the case made by the film.
The event itself was hosted by current UNIA-ACL President Steven Golding who fielded questions after the screening was finished, along with Samuel Lee Fudge. Fudge described his motivation for playing Garvey as coming from a place of anger, and wanting to be more proactive about the things that angered him. He has a masters in film and resides in Miami, where he grew up, and identifies as a Pan Africanist.
His preparation to play Garvey was thorough. Fudge speaks of periods of fasting, libations and praying to Garvey’s spirit. He also underwent copious amounts of research, as he saw his role as something decided for him for many years. “I was compelled to be Marcus Garvey. It was my calling from a very early age.”
Authenticity
The push for authenticity came from an awareness that Garvey’s story is heavily protected by many.
As Steven Golding put it, “The very idea of a movie about Garvey comes with a lot of criticisms and adversity. We had people saying young Garvey was too fat, that there were not enough Jamaican actors in the film. A whole lot of things.”
The film does feature one Jamaican actor, Shevon Thomas, who portrays Malchus Garvey, Marcus’ father.
The event was well attended. Members of Montego Bay’s teaching community were granted a lower price of admission and several guests were educators.
The film-makers encouraged the use of the film in classrooms, with Fudge speaking about a surprising lack of awareness about Garvey in the film’s tour around the globe.
Now that the film is being shown around the world, Fudge hopes the impact will be this: “I want to be the fuse to the fire in the youth just like Garvey, and to be a guiding voice to make the black youth across the world feel inspired and hear his voice. I want to feed that hunger of wanting to change the world.”
Mosiah is currently being shown at film festivals, and available now for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime.
Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.
English (US) ·