Currently making waves at venues throughout Northern California, a group of independent visionary filmmakers are taking their Hip Hop Film Fest on the road and to Albuquerque's Guild Theater from July 26 through Aug. 1.
The festival is one of the first of its kind to go through the Albuquerque area and represents a rare opportunity to view films from the hip-hop culture that would be hard to view in their intended theater context.
There are four traditional pillars of hip-hop: DJing, breakdancing, graffiti, and rapping. "It is our intention to bring to you the real world of hip-hop through the its fifth element; filmmaking," said Kevin Fitgerald, the director of "FREESTYLE: The Art of Rhyme." "There have been plenty of gangsta films over the last few years that make heavy use of hip-hop, with plots that generally center around violence with hardcore soundtracks. But there is a vibrant and beautiful side to hip-hop culture that runs deep in communities all over the States that is underrepresented in the media."
"FREESTYLE: The Art of Rhyme," claims the seminal hip-hopumentary "Wild Style" of 1982 as its direct ancestor. It traces the story of underground hip-hop MC's from the early 1980s through the present day. Focusing on improvisational rap as an art form, it was shot over a seven-year period by the collaborative effort of students, filmmakers, DJs, b-boys and MCs. It features some of the works of artists such as Mos Def, Medusa, Saul Williams, T-Love, Lauren Hill, Black Thought of the Roots, Freestyle Fellowship, Black Eyed Peas, Dilated Peoples, Lord Finesse, Supernatural, MC Juice, Jurrasic 5,
J-Rocc and DJ Kool Herc, among others. A mix of instantaneous poetry and music, the movie shows freestyling as a matrix in which the English language is subverted and re-appropriated as a tool of empowerment. "FREESTYLE" will be playing on July 26 and July 30, at 9 p.m.
"Nobody Knows My Name," another movie featured in the festival, is a documentary focusing on women in hip-hop. Whereas, corporate hip-hop portrays women in a derogatory fashion, "Nobody Knows My Name," portrays women in more evolved sense - movers and shakers of the hip-hop movement.
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Featured in the movie are such artists as Medusa, T-Love, Lisa, Asia-One, DJ Symphony and Lescha. They are women of different ages, ethnicities and economic backgrounds, connected by their love of hip-hop. "Nobody Knows My Name" will be playing at 10:45 p.m. on July 26.
"Straight Outta Hunters Point" will be playing on July 27, at 9 p.m. and July 30 at 10:45 p.m. It is a portrait of a community in crisis that has somehow managed to thrive, despite its turbulent history.
"The Glass Pool Incident" is a movie directed by Albuquerque's Daniel Kraven.
The movie was shot simultaneously during the last day of the second millennium by several different filmmakers following different characters. The characters and the filmmakers were then united, a year after the filming, to screen the project and add new footage to the movie. All of the stories unfold at the same time in locales such as Japan, New York, Los Angeles and Australia. The film tells the stories of three MCs, a few DJs, a homosexual sailor and a Las Vegas motel room. "The Glass Pool Incident" will screen on July 27 at 10:45 p.m.
"Graffiti Verite" - literally the art of filming graffiti - will be unfortunately the only feature to deal with one of the most controversial aspects of hip-hop: graffiti. It will examine the art form and unearth the historic relevance of the Graffiti Art Movement, set against the backdrop of today's urban landscape. Profiling some of the most legendary taggers and graffiti legends in the Los Angeles area, the film will shed much needed light on this important art movement. "Graffiti Verite" will be shown on July 28 at 10:45 p.m.
At least two unique films will be playing each night at 9 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. for only $5 a screening. A discount festival laminated pass is available for all of the films on the official website www.hiphopfilmfest.com for only $26.95.
For more information on additional films and times call the Guild Cinema at 255-1848.
