The Hip Hop Film Fest & Black August Media Forum

The Hip Hop Film Fest & Black August Media Forum. - A Fundraiser for The San Francisco Bayview Newspaper - This Saturday & Sunday - Aug 17th & 18th event runs both days from 5 p.m to approx 12 a.m midnight What ?: Y'all should come on down to see the most popular films of The Hip Hop Film Fest like "Freestyle:The Art of Rhyme", and "Straight Outta Hunters Point". In addition to great indie films and performances from rap and spoken word artists like T-Kash of The Coup, Jymini, and Natural Blackness, the Fest also promises awareness building dialogue with local alternative media panelists. Opportunities to win raffle prizes, enjoy the vibe and suck up some some Hot BBQ & Louisiana Gumbo in the courtyard. location information: 934 Brannan Street (between 8th and 9th Streets) San Francisco CA Somar Event Line: 415.552.2131x401 info@somarts.org admission : $5 students/ $7 adult $20 all day benefit pass at the door The indie filmmaking crew that is organizing the ongoing Hip Hop Film Fest tour, is throwing a festive and educational event Saturday Aug 17th & Sunday Aug 18th at SomARTS Center in San Francisco. Folks of all ages and races are invited to see screenings of the most popular films in the festival as well as participate in Indie Media Forums with some of the Bay Area's leading alternative media writers and visual artists. In addition to unique films, each day will feature an alternative media panel with visual artist, journalists, writers, and representatives from publications and media outlets to hold open ended discussion about local community issues and current events. There will also be refreshments and food available with proceeds directed to helping out the venerable, yet financially troubled SF Bayview newspaper, the last remaining black owned newspaper in San Francisco. An outdoor Bar BQ will coincide in the somARTS courtyard with musical performances by T- Kash of The Coup, Jymini, DJ Undercut , spoken word from Natural Fact, Pitch Black, and others to be announced. Raffles will be held for prizes which include new CD's, Video Games, and more. 5:00 p.m Voice of The Voiceless (US 2001 49mim) dir: Tania Cuevas-Martinez Award winning short documentary film about the movement surrounding the appeal process for Mumia Abu Jamal. Many notable hip-hop artists and activists explain their support and struggle for the liberation of this condemned political prisoner on Death Row. Features Michael Franti, Dead Prez, Mos Def, Gil Scott Heron and more. 6:00 p.m a Bay Area Alternative Media Panel : Saturday panelists will focus on issues facing contemporary alternative media TBA. Moderator JR of Black Imperial Society/SF Bay View 7:30 p.m Nobody Knows My Name (2001 60 min) dir: Rachel Raimist Going beyond the "bling bling" and "bootay" that is the mainstream music video mainstay, Raimist reveals the lives of real women, connected by their love of the elements of Hip Hop. This intimate film draws you into the stories of talented women who are poets, performers, and artists of great ethnic diversity that believe in hip hop as a way of life such as Medusa & DJ Symphony (the sole female member of the The World Famous Beat Junkies). 9:00 p.m Freestyle : The Art of Rhyme (US, 2002 57min) dir: Kevin Fitzgerald An award winning film that explosively documents the world of improvisational Rap. Shot over a period of more than seven years by a co-operative of students, filmmakers, DJ's, b-boys, and MC's, FREESTYLE takes viewers on a journey through previously unexamined dimensions of hip-hop. Improvised poetry challenges conventional linguistics, politics and culture as language is re-appropriated as a tool for empowerment. Freestyle is packed with rare and archival footage of some of the most amazing hip-hop MC's ever to bless the mic, including Supernatural, Mos Def, Last Poets, Biggie Smalls, Black Thought of The Roots, Freestyle Fellowship, Lord Finesse, Tupac Shakur, MC Juice, DJ's Cut Chemist & Numark of Jurassic-5, and DJ Kool Herc. Sunday - scheduling TBA - info below is tentative but screenings will include: 5:00 p.m "Breath Control: The History of The Human Beat Box" (US 2001 73min) dir: Joey Garfield Breath Control is a documentary about making music via the human beat box, easily one of the key elements in the development of Hip-Hop culture, alongside Dj-ing, Graffiti, Breakdancing, and MC-ing. Unfortunately, its contribution has been largely overlooked, as has the fun, expressive, human, and spontaneous dimension of Hip-Hop that it represents. Breath Control: The History of the Human Beat Box uses interviews, live performances, archival footage, and animation to bring to light this important and neglected ingredient of Hip Hop's identity. Beat Box pioneers and luminaries such as Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, The Fat Boys, The Roots, and Zap Mama trace this art form from its basic beat to the present day. 7:00 p.m Estillo Hip Hop (2002 15 min) dir: Vie Bravo A stunning and inspiring short preview of a work in progress documentary that travels the nevert before seen world of South American Hip Hop. You meet the young people communicating in the international language of Hip Hop in their respective countries such as Argentina, Chile', Brazil and elsewhere. Learn of their struggles and triumphs while they set out to define their role in this burgeoning movement. Voice of The Voiceless (US 2001 49min) dir: Tania Cuevas-Martinez Award winning short documentary film about the movement surrounding the appeal process for Mumia Abu Jamal. Many notable hip-hop artists and activists explain their support and struggle for the liberation of this condemned political prisoner on Death Row. Features Michael Franti, Dead Prez, Mos Def, Gil Scott Heron and more. The Sunday Media Panel follows "Voice of The Voiceless" and precedes "Straight Outta Hunters Point". 9:00 p.m Straight Outta Hunters Point (US, 2002 74min) dir: Kevin Epps Director Kevin Epps will be present to screen the latest cut of his own film as well as a few shorts made by local Bayview youths. He'll engage in audience Q & A afterwards. Soundtrack CD's will be available. This critically acclaimed portrait of life in San Francisco's notorious Hunters Point Housing Projects, S.O.H.P has screened at several film fests, and is returning by popular demand to the City. In this flick, Director Kevin Epps explores conditions in the black ghetto neighborhood where he grew up and still lives. Examine a litany of urban woes from alleged gang related "Rap Wars" to economic redlining, meanwhile a vital underground hip-hop scene provides the essence of hope for the youth. A raw gripping film that depicts a neighborhood transformed from a once thriving area into a toxic dumping ground and Super Fund site. The result is a gripping insider portrait of a community in crisis persevering despite the odds . Features Bay Area artists like RBL Posse, Herm, Baby Finsta, Seff Tha Gaffla, and JT The Bigga Figga. plus shorts: Miracle Makers ( Girls 2000, Just Think 11 min. ) A tribute to grandmothers who raise grandchildren in the Bayview Community. Twelve girls celebrate grandmothers as caregivers, role models and the person in their lives who keep things together when times are rough. Where We At (girls 2000, Just Think 5 min. ) A rarely seen female viewpoint of the killings happening in HP, As four girls re-construct the altars they usually make in remembrance of their lost ones, they express their feelings and thoughts. Hunter's Point on Fire ( Youth in Action 2001) - a look at the mysterious fires and that burned for weeks on the Naval Base in 2000. more TBA Hip Hop Film Fest Tour continues this fall: Durham NC Sept 20 -22 Santa Cruz Oct 12-13 see for updates and additional dates to be added. Coming soon Portland OR, Houston TX, Austin TX, Chicago IL, etc. The concept of Black August allows hip hop culture to be placed within the historical and political context that can inform, inspire and guide new generations as we confront the issues facing our communities, our society and our world. Black August is a time of remembrance for those lost and a chance to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, resistance, spiritual renewal for all of those working in the ongoing struggle to free ourselves from political oppression and break the chains that bind us. Black August grew out of the California Prison system by the men and women of the Black/Afrikan Liberation Movement as a means of acknowledging and studying the legacy of resistance in the Americas. They had a need to expose the heroic deeds of Afrikan women and men who have recognized and struggled against the injustices heaped upon people of color on a daily basis in America. These include fallen soldiers such as Soledad Brother, George L. Jackson who was killed in prison August 21, 1971 and his younger brother, Jonathan Jackson who was killed in the parking lot of a Marin County courtroom after liberating Ruchell Magee among other brothers on August 7, 1970. The arrival of the first Africans here for the purpose of enslavement was in August (1619). The first and only armed revolution whereby Africans freed themselves from chattel slavery commenced on August 21, 1791 in Haiti. Nat Turner's slave rebellion began on August 21, 1831, and Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad started in August. Philadelphia Police began raiding and murdering MOVE members in their homes beginning in August 8, 1978 . As Mumia Abu Jamal, whose own execution was stayed in August 1995, has written "Their sacrifice, their despair, their determination and their blood has painted the month Black for all time." We invite you to come on down to experience this unique gathering and important cultural event. For Info See: http://www.SFBayview.com For a history of Black August related information and timeline visit For The SF Bay View For Our Website: contact event co-curator: Kevin Epps Toll Free Voice Mail 866.206.9071 x9211 rsvp@hiphopfilmfest.com additional media & PR info: LilMike of EventMagic 415.626.6501