London in the 1950's was a cold place in more ways than the obvious.
Or so it appeared if you were one of the thousands of newly arrived Jamaicans. Many were overqualified for their menial jobs. Thousands of others quite simply could not get work. Discrimination and racial tensions culminated in fierce riots in both Nottingham and Notting Hill Gate. It was in this environment that the Jamaican soundmen; Duke Vin and Count Suckle arrived in the UK. They both stowed away on a boat from Kingston and brought with them a sound that was sweeping across the small Caribbean island and would later change the face of music in the UK. This was the sound of ska!

Gusto Films was established in 2003 and is involved with documentary film production, music videos and bespoke filming work.

Gus is currently at Mammoth Mountain, California filming a freestyle ski team from Australia and his latest film, Duke Vin and The Birth of Ska is on the film festival circuit. Its next screening is part of the "Yard! Dub and Reggae on Film Festival" at ACMI in January 2010.

Previous screenings include St Kilda Film Festival (Nominated for Best Doc), Portobello Film Festival (nominated for Audience Award) and various screenings in London in 2008 as part of Black History Month.

This film was directed by Gus Berger & produced by The Hackney Film Collective, London.

Lottery funded