Shottas

2002 Crime Drama

Grammy-nominated reggae artist Kymani Marley and Jamaican dancehall star Spragga Benz star in director Cess Silvera's tale of two Kingston gangsters looking to make a name for themselves on the mean streets of Kingston. Homegrown gangers Biggs (Marley) and Wayne (Benz) have paid their dues in Kingston, and now they've set their sights on a better life in Miami. After robbing a soda truck to gain the funds needed to make their way to the United States, however, their dreams quickly turn to dust when they are deported for hustling and sent back to Jamaica with nothing but the shirts on their backs. Biggs and Wayne aren't willing to kiss their ambitions goodbye quite so easily though, and thanks to a little compliance from the Kingston politicians, the pair soon begin extorting money from the local businesses. The heavies in the Kingston underworld are beginning to resent the pair's wildfire success though, and as the pressure mounts to end the rising tide of crime a local politician pays the ultimate price to arrange for the visas that will get Biggs and Wayne back to Florida. Upon returning to the states, the now-powerful duo finds that there is a high price to pay for power in a world where to trust equals death and success simply means having more enemies. more..

Director: Cess Silvera

Starring: Ky-mani Marley, Spragga Benz, Paul Campbell, Louie Rankin, Wyclef Jean

Reviews

  • It's all pretty rough going, but even with its microbudget there's enough blood, booty and bling to satisfy fans of the genre. It's also never dull, thanks to Silvera's restless pacing and a great reggae soundtrack.

    Ken Fox - TV Guide

    27 April 2013

  • Gangster tale Shottas feels like a Jamaican "Scarface," offering a vivid slice of the underground street culture of Kingston. Still, the violence is senseless and the plot full of holes.

    - Variety

    27 April 2013

  • Writer-director Cess Silvera claims he's trying to "show the gritty life of Jamaican immigrants," but Shottas is no more a social-issue film than "Scarface."

    - Village Voice

    27 April 2013

  • Cess Silvera, the film's writer and director, doesn't find any of the humanity or inner demons that would allow the characters to rise above B-movie exploitation.

    Neil Genzlinger - The New York Times

    27 April 2013

  • There's no social commentary discernible here; merely a rap-video style glorification of the gangsta life, complete with mad money, barely clad babes and that annoying affectation of holding pistols sideways. As to its treatment of women, well, it's not exactly a feminist film.

    - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

Awards

No awards