As reggae legend Jay Douglas prepares to obtain the 2026 Reggae North Residing Legend Award, audiences are additionally discovering the acclaimed filmmaker who introduced his exceptional musical journey to the display—award-winning Toronto director Graeme Matheson.
Matheson is the inventive pressure behind the acclaimed characteristic documentary ‘Play It Loud: How Toronto Obtained Soul,’ a robust movie that celebrates Jay Douglas’ extraordinary profession whereas exploring the profound affect of Caribbean music and tradition on Toronto’s musical id. Via intimate storytelling and wealthy historic context, the documentary captures the resilience, expertise, and legacy of one among Canada’s most influential reggae and soul pioneers.
Raised by dad and mom who immigrated from Jamaica and Scotland, Matheson’s multicultural upbringing has formed each his perspective and his method to filmmaking. His curiosity about folks, cultures, and untold histories has taken him around the globe—from Ethiopia and Chile to Jamaica and Japan—creating documentaries that give voice to communities and tales usually neglected.
All through his profession, Matheson has collaborated with a formidable vary of cultural icons and public figures, together with reggae legends Leroy Sibbles, Johnny Osbourne and Sly Dunbar, Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson, NBA champion Danny Inexperienced, comic Russell Peters, and political chief Jagmeet Singh. Whatever the topic, his work is pushed by authenticity, empathy, and a dedication to preserving necessary cultural histories.
His ardour for reggae music is clear all through his physique of labor. In 2024, he directed and wrote the Nationwide Movie Board of Canada’s five-part documentary sequence ‘Sounds & Strain: Reggae in a International Land,’ which chronicles how Jamaican musicians helped remodel Toronto into a global reggae capital through the style’s golden period. The acclaimed sequence earned Finest Documentary Sequence and Finest Directing honours on the Baltimore New Media Competition.
Matheson can be the co-founder of Toronto-based manufacturing firm Bonfire Originals, the place he continues to develop documentary movies and unscripted sequence targeted on underrepresented voices and untold tales. His mission is to make use of visible storytelling to create significant conversations whereas preserving histories that should be remembered.
Away from filmmaking, many Torontonians know him as DJ Gramera, having spent greater than 15 years internet hosting StolenSouls on CHRY 105.5 FM. A passionate collector of uncommon soul, ska, reggae, and funk data, he continues to share his love of music via vinyl DJ units and neighborhood occasions throughout the town.
Graeme Mathison & Jay Douglas
‘Play It Loud’ has develop into one among Matheson’s most celebrated achievements. The movie earned a number of honours in 2025, together with Finest Documentary on the Windrush Caribbean Movie Competition, the Viewers Alternative Award on the Caribbean Tales Worldwide Movie Competition, and the Documentary Arts/Tradition Award on the Yorkton Movie Competition.
As Jay Douglas is acknowledged with the 2026 Reggae North Residing Legend Award, ‘Play It Loud’ stands as an enduring tribute to his extraordinary legacy—and to the imaginative and prescient of director Graeme Matheson, whose dedication to genuine storytelling continues to protect the historical past of reggae music and the communities that helped form Canada’s cultural panorama.
