Ziggy Marley: Producing 'One Love' film was 'blessed experience'
NEW YORK, May 28 (UPI) -- Jamaican musician Ziggy Marley says producing One Love, the biopic about his father, reggae legend Bob Marley -- and sharing their rich Rastafari culture with the world -- has been a "blessed experience."
Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at age 36.
The peace activist and father of 11 children, who survived an assassination attempt in 1976, is best known for his global hits "One Love," "No Woman, No Cry," "Three Little Birds," "People Get Ready," "Buffalo Soldier," "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff."
Available on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, One Love chronicles Bob Marley's extraordinary life and work in fighting for social change and unity against oppression. It was filmed in the real locations where Marley lived in Jamaica and England.
Kingsley Ben-Adir stars as the singer and Lashana Lynch plays his wife Rita. The cast includes Nadine Marshall, James Norton and Michael Gandolfini.
"Growing up during that time, even though these things were happening, for me, it was a big adventure, for me and my brothers. It was like: 'Wow! We are in all this activity,'" Ziggy Marley, 55, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"So, to relive it, for me, it is good memories," he said. "There is a deep, emotional response to it as a family and for my mother, specifically, to relive what she went through and what her husband went through."
The film is intended to be an authentic account of Bob Marley's life, but does not seek to separate the man from the myth since they are one in the same, according to his son.
"It's the family's perspective and it's from his friends' perspective, who knew him intimately true during this time period," Ziggy Marley said.
"In Jamaica, we believe in spiritual things. We don't believe that things are 'myths.' We believe things are real. We believe spirits are real and vibration is real. It's balance. The myth and the man have to be balanced because both are true."
His father's music has never gone out of style, but Marley still enjoyed shining a light on it through a film so younger generations might learn more about the man who created it.
"That's a beautiful thing," Marley said.
"I have teenage kids and their friends were over and they were saying, 'Oh, Mr. Marley, we love the movie!' It's good to expose them to something different -- not only music, but culture. It's a different culture," he added. "It's opening up minds, which is good for the younger generation."
The musician, who also founded the non-profit Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment to help needy children in Jamaica and Africa, said he is sad that people still need to be reminded to care about and help each other in 2024.
"One of the purposes behind the movie is trying to get that message out there," Marley said, noting that this isn't a theme he sees prominently featured in film, TV and music nowadays.
"Everything will be better if we live together more, if we unite more, if we love each other more. Everything will get better. Everything will get better!" he said. "If we want it to get better for everyone, this is what it will take."
The DVD and Blu-ray include extended and deleted scenes from the film, which were not seen during its theatrical release, as well as interviews with the cast, filmmakers and musicians who brought the movie to life.
