Shella Record – A Reggae Mystery

For 10 years, artist and record fanatic Chris Flanagan has been a man obsessed, haunted by the woman’s voice featured on a 10-cent record he bought in a thrift store. Who is this soulful siren, calling to him from another time and place, credited only with the name Shella Record? Determined to find the elusive artist, Chris sets off on a quest that leads him from a hairdressing studio in Toronto, to a fortune teller in L.A., to the legendary recording studios of Jamaica. Along the way, he discusses the history of Jamaica’s music with some of reggae’s greatest hitmakers, including Bunny “Striker” Lee and Earl “Chinna” Smith. The film uses Chris’s own artistic practice of carefully crafted miniatures to help tell a playful story of obsession, the power of music and final redemption. -Aisha Jamal