A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James(2016)

A Brief History of Seven Killings is a documentary that follows novelist Marlon James after his 2015 Man Booker Prize win for his acclaimed novel of the same name. The film traces James's return to Jamaica as he reflects on his groundbreaking work, which centers on the attempted assassination of Bob Marley and its rippling consequences. Director Alan Yentob explores how James's three celebrated novels construct a layered portrait of Jamaica's violent and complex history. The documentary also documents James's public coming-out as gay—a significant moment for a writer from a country with deeply entrenched homophobia. Through intimate conversation and literary analysis, the film examines how James's fiction grapples with his nation's turbulent past and his own identity within it.