Delroy Lindo Wraps Directorial Debut 'Jabari's People' in Jamaica
Delroy Lindo has finished shooting Jabari's People, the Jamaican-set family drama that is his first feature as a director. Production wrapped in Kingston, Jamaica after a 22-day shoot, The Hollywood Reporter reported on 23 September 2026.
Lindo also stars in the film. He leads alongside Winston Duke, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Wendell Pierce and newcomer Seyi Andes-Pelumi.
The story is an intergenerational family drama set between Brooklyn and Jamaica's Blue Mountains. It centres on Jabari, a gifted but defiant Brooklyn teenager sent to live with his estranged grandparents after his mother's sudden death.
Andes-Pelumi plays Jabari. He rejects his grandparents as he struggles with grief and a new home. Duke plays his overwhelmed father, Jean-Baptiste plays his emotionally intuitive grandmother and Lindo plays his disciplined grandfather. Pierce plays a doctor in the family's New York community.
The wider ensemble includes Rolando Alberts, Sekai Smart-Macaulay, Kimberly Patterson, Jeff Crossley, Kadeem Wilson, Sule Thelwell, Everaldo Creary and Djamari Roberts. The script was written by Daoud Abeid and Dakhil Hausif.
Lindo has lived with the project for more than a decade. He first encountered the story in 2015 as a possible acting role, then optioned the script rights in 2021. He is producing the film through his banner Mudtop Productions, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
What makes this stand out is the long road to the set. Eleven years from first contact to a wrap in Kingston is a slow build. For audiences, the next step is post-production, with no release date yet announced.
