Tuesday,
August 3, 2010
Black
Lily Film & Video Festival
Planet
Rock: A Hip Hop Film Series
Scene
Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip Hop
dir.
Maori Karmael Holmes, US, 2005, BetaSP, 45 mins, color
Director
Maori Karmael Holmes in person
Philadelphia
is often referred to as the mecca for American soul music, however
its contributions to hip-hop have often been overlooked despite
its mass proliferation of artists, many of whom have made landmark
contributions as emcees, graffiti artists, dancers, and most
notable as deejays. Despite this, the City of Brotherly Love
has continued to churn out some of the most innovative hip-hop
artists of the current generation. Perhaps one of the most unique
aspects to the scene is the abundance of powerful female voices
that it has produced as artists, promoters and writers. This
film seeks to tell the story of these women—the legends, the
famed, and the ingénues—as they struggle to succeed in a male-dominated
industry in a city that has been left behind in the national
consciousness. Scene Not Heard
features interviews with some of the originators of
hip-hop such as Lady B, Schoolly D, Monie Love and Rennie Harris,
with vanguards chiming in including Bahamadia and Ursula Rucker,
and presents current talents such as the Jazzyfatnastees, Ms
Jade, and Lady Alma, and emerging talents such as Versus, Keen
of Subliminal Orphans and Michele Byrd-McPhee of Montuzh, as
well as scholars, critics and local promoters.
with
The
Big Pay Back - Philadelphia Premiere
dir.
Leah Nicole Productions, US, 2010, video, 30 mins, color
Directors
Leah Keturah Caesar and Nicole Harris in
person
The
Big Pay Back is a short documentary made up of stories
uniquely narrated by female pioneers and the leading ladies
of new school Philly hip hop. This film provides an in depth
look into the life of Philadelphia women of hip hop by way of
exclusive interviews, exhibitions of their craft, archives and
classic locations. Philly’s history in Hip Hop is deeply rooted,
yet unknown. These stories will be told by the people who lived
it. The directors’ goals for the film are to record the untold
testimonies of these powerful Philly women as they serve as
key advocates in the progression of our culture. The Big
Pay Back is part of the feature-length Raw Talent
Philly, which highlights the Philadelphia experience by
introducing our style and rich history in hip hop dance, dating
back to late 70’s all the way to present day. This documentary
will cover our originality in stepping/ break dancing, popping,
locking, house, old school 90s to our own native dance the "Wu-Tang".
Raw Talent will also capture the connection that graffiti art
and dj'ing have to the dance community. We are presenting exclusive
archives, interviews, pictures, footage, and classic locations.
These stories will be told by the people who lived it, along
with the legendary pioneers and new school prodigies.
All
The Ladies Say - Philadelphia Premiere
dir. A Rokafella Garcia, US, 2010, video, color
All
The Ladies Say highlights
the lives of six iconic female street dancers from San Jose,
Atlanta, Miami and Chicago, who have carved a niche in the physically
challenging, male-dominated breakdance world. Discussions about
motherhood, sexual tension, femininity versus masculinity, and
the rap industry/mainstream images are a few of the themes explored
by the documentary’s main characters. International dancers
not only make appearances but also add their two cents about
life as a B Girl in the Hip-hop world.
Director
B Girl Rokafella is a veteran female breakdancer who co-founded
Full Circle Producutions, Inc. in 1996 with her husband Kwikstep.
For over a decade, their mission has been to present uplifting
Hip Hop dance performances and provide educational Hip Hop dance
programming through out NYC. In 2005, Rokafella felt the timing
was perfect to introduce a national introspective discussion
series, bringing the community together to address issues on
personal and professional levels that can be resolved with sensitive
and open dialogue.
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