Toronto-based indie Ultramagnetic Productions has secured financing and is starting production on the new feature documentary Say It Loud: How a Black Music Mecca Grew in the Frozen North, about the life and career of Jamaican-Canadian singer Jay Douglas.

The doc is directed by Jamaican-Canadian filmmaker Graeme Mathieson (Ruff & Tuff), with award-winning filmmaker Clement Virgo (Brother) attached as an executive producer, marking his first documentary production. Filming will take place in the Toronto area; Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica; Austin, Tex.; and London, England.

A seasoned singer in his native Jamaica, Douglas (pictured) became part Toronto’s music scene in the 1960s and ’70s, performing in West Indian social clubs and downtown night spots.

Along with the other artists who joined the musical migration to Canada in that era — including some of Jamaica’s biggest stars, such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Johnny Osbourne — Douglas helped create the so-called “Toronto Sound” that combined soul, ska and early reggae, laying the groundwork for later artists like Michie Mee, Kardinal Offishall, Daniel Caesar, Drake and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.

The documentary will launch at festivals in 2024 ahead of its broadcast and streaming premieres on Ontario pubcaster TVO, which is providing financing for the project. British Columbia’s Knowledge Network has the second window, and levelFILM has come on board as North American distributor. International rights outside of North America are still available.

Additional funding for the doc comes from the Canada Media Fund, Rogers Documentary Fund and Hot Docs-Slaight Family Fund, as well as federal and provincial tax credits. Ontario Creates funded development on the project.

Ultramagnetic founder Andrew Munger, who relaunched the prodco last year, previously produced Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On and Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & The Band for White Pine Pictures.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen