Gully Bop film to be shown at GATFFEST

Body Specialist deejay Gully Bop will join the elite group of entertainers who have had films made about them.

The late deejay stars in the profile documentary film of his life which will be screened this Friday at the annual GATFFEST (Greater August Town Film Festival) at The Ruins, The University of the West Indies, Mona.

The brainchild of cinematographer Winston Lindo, the film is titled A Journey Through Salvation and it captures Gully Bop during his heyday in the music industry. Lindo, who said that critics have hailed the film as "entertaining" and have commended him for "making Gully Bop look like a movie star", has refused to take some of the credit.

"I would say Gully Bop was born a star," shared the director.

Lindo, who met Gully Bop in 2015, told THE STAR that at the time, the media painted a certain image of the deejay and he knew that there had to be more to this artiste than simply "a man from the gully". He arranged to do an on-camera interview, with the hope of eventually doing a docu-film, an idea that Gully Bop reportedly "loved".

"The initial meet-up was to shoot the interview part of the film ... but after shooting the interview, I guess he was pleased with how it was conducted and he asked me if I would be interested in being more deeply involved in documenting his journey. He trusted me with bringing a camera into his personal and public life, and he also knew that I would not exploit him," recalled Lindo, whose role also included creative director-designer for Gully Bop's Country Man clothing line.

He ended up spending chunks of time with Gully Bop, from hotels to plane trips, to eating good from the deejay's home garden, studio sessions and meeting family members.

"We shared much joy in the creation of the film. There was one time we had a debate on who is the better candidate to catch an iguana ... in Grand Cayman, while on tour. Finally, he said, 'You give me the camera and you catch him.' Somehow that made sense to me, so I handed him the camera and he filmed me trying to catch it. I ended up in the bushes ... ripped my button-up shirt and with cuts all over my back. We laughed to and from about it ... great experience."

Lindo shared that there were many elements that made filming extremely challenging at times, "however, it was a great experience filming him in Jamaica and on tour, and seeing how people react to him internationally and locally".

"What was amazing was that he would feed any animal. Both here in Jamaica and while we were on tour, he fed rabbits, iguanas, anything living. People love him because he is genuine," Lindo stated.

A Journey Through Salvation is about "a man born Robert Lee Malcolm in King Weston, West Rural St Andrew, who had dreams of becoming a recording artiste".

Gully Bop struggled to survive before catching his big break in 2014 at the age of 50. He rose from homeless to fame, after some cell phone recorded performances went viral. By the end of that year, he performed at Sting and the Kingston native had a handful of official music releases, "and his amazing journey from chicken wing to plane wing began".

Gully Bop died on October 31, 2023. He was 59.