Mark Warmington
Director/DOP
Harder Than The Rock
Documentary
Harder Than The Rock
Documentary
Britain's first reggae band, Cimarons, was formed by teenage Jamaican immigrants in a London bus shelter in 1967.
Reggae exploded in the 1970s, with Cimarons at its heart. Thousands of miles from Jamaica, they brought excitement, experimentation and sheer anticipation booming from speaker boxes, putting the new generation of Black British youth in touch with their roots - in contact with who they really were.
Industry legends, Cimarons worked with reggae-royalty Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and even Paul McCartney, but have been hugely under-recognised when it comes to their own music, impact and legacy.
Having lost drummer Maurice Ellis to cancer, the band persists, despite decades of exploitation. Harder Than The Rock tells the story of their amazing history and follows the band’s final chapter as they dream of performing again, one last time…
Director: Mark Warmington
Executive Producers: Inuka Capita Bacote, Matt O'Casey, Mark Antonello, Mike O'Brien, Mark Warmington, James Baxter, Paul Dyson & Angela Dyson
Producers: James Baxter, Jeremiah Cullinane & Mark Warmington
Editor: Mark Lediard
A Margot Films Production
PRESS
“An infectiously engaging and very moving rhapsody for the groundbreaking rebels dubbed ‘the backbone of British reggae’. A terrific doc that tells a story you can’t quite believe you didn’t know.”
MARK KERMODE, KERMODE & MAYO'S TAKE
"A scarcely believable story about one of the most pioneering bands in the history of reggae."
AMOL RAJAN, BBC RADIO 4 - TODAY SHOW
"As the documentary captures with real warmth, tenderness and humour, the band are lovingly back together."
DANIEL DYLAN WRAY, THE GUARDIAN
"They sowed the seeds for the UK's love affair with Jamaican music. If it was for this film I wouldn't have known that."
DON LETTS
"An film is an audio visual masterpiece that brilliantly captures the history of British reggae music."
KENNY MONROSE, THE CONVERSATION
"Beautifully raw."
CHERRON INKO-TARIAH MBE, BLACK HISTORY MONTH MAGAZINE
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/harder_than_the_rock
https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/cimarons-stripped
