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"Yardie ... is a reminder of where we come from
in England," Elba said at a news conference after a screening of
his film.
The film follows the journey of D., a young gangster who loses
his older brother to ghetto rivalry in Kingston, Jamaica.
Ten years after his brother's death, he is still traumatized.
His adopted father, a drug dealer, sends him to London in an
attempt to dissuade him from carrying forward the cycle of
vengeance.
But his brother's ghost continues to haunts D. and he cannot
rest until he takes revenge.
Elba said the film was inspired by the trauma of losing his
father five years ago.
The 1992 novel by Jamaican-born British author Victor Headley on
which the film is based was described by its publisher as the
first popular title aimed at a black audience in Britain.
Elba said his film was not about "black people" but about
Jamaican culture, adding: "I think it's a dangerous thing to
categorize stories by color. I am very much a storyteller by
culture."
Through songs performed by D. and his brother during the movie,
Elba wanted to explain and give context to Jamaican music and
reggae for an international audience.
"Even Bob Marley's records, "Lively Up Yourself", "Survival" --
do these people outside of Jamaica really know what those songs
were about, and what they meant to Jamaica?" Elba said.
"Yardie" is among around 400 films screening at the Berlinale.
The festival runs until Feb. 25.
(Reporting By Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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