IF filmmaker Kevin MacDonald has his way, a feature film on reggae star Peter Tosh could make it to the silver screen.

Tosh, an original member of The Wailers, was gunned down at his home in September 1987.

MACDONALD… having discussions but haven’t got anywhere

MacDonald is the director of Marley, the documentary on reggae legend Bob Marley which premieres today at Emancipation Park in St Andrew.

“I have been having discussions regarding a Peter Tosh film, but that hasn’t really gotten anywhere just yet… not even a flicker in anyone’s eye, but I would like to do that,” said MacDonald from his London home this week.

With regard to his latest project, MacDonald said his objective was to humanise Marley, who died of cancer in 1981.

“In all the material I have read or seen on Bob Marley, they never seemed to answer my question — ‘Who was the man?’ Not the reggae superstar on album covers, T-shirts and posters, but the real man. And that is what I set out to answer with this documentary,” MacDonald explained.

In his search for ‘the real Bob Marley’, the director did more than 60 interviews with persons who interacted closely with the superstar. These include family members, musicians, close friends and associates, Marley’s teacher from St Ann, and the nurse who cared for him during his last days in a German clinic.

“I just wanted to let the voices speak, paint the portrait and write the narrative.”

MacDonald — who directed The Last King of Scotland, which earned a Best Actor Academy Award for Forrest Whittaker in 2007 — said there were a number of standouts.

According to him, the interview with the German nurse was “extremely touching and personal”. However, his most poignant moment came from Marley’s half-sister Constance. “Although she did not know Bob, she is able to shed a touching light on him through her reflections of what it means to grow up of mixed race and without a father,” he said.

MacDonald said he hopes the documentary does not disappoint.

“I hope the public will see the objectivity as presented through the eyes of an outsider in presenting a new side of Bob Marley. This is something they have not seen before, and I hope it sends them back to his music with a deeper appreciation.”