The Inaugural Hip Hop Film Festival is Coming

Catching up with the rest of the world, Woody & Penny are proud to present the first ever Hip Hop Film Festival held in Australia. Running over two consecutive weekends in both Sydney and Melbourne, the festival will showcase the best in Hip Hop film, from the pioneering classics to Australian premiers.

The festival will run over seven sessions, screening a range of international and local features and shorts, both narrative and documentary. With a huge opening night party featuring Madlib (US), Peanut Butter Wolf (US) and Diverse (US) and the best Hip Hop films around, this event will be unlike any other staged in this country. Films such as Slam, Freestyle, the DJ-Shadow-scored Dark Days and Wild Style are among the films being screened. Pick up a program book for festival details.

Why a Hip Hop Film Festival-

Since its birth thirty years ago, Hip Hop continues to reach wider audiences than almost any other genre. Born in New York City, Hip Hop music and the culture associated with it, is highly visible in countries all across the world, from Israel to Cuba, Hip Hop exists everywhere. Over its thirty year life span, Hip Hop has evolved into myriad shapes and forms. The music and culture grew organically from the streets, without any support from the music industry whatsoever. Eventually entering the mainstream, it was and continues to be one of the most intriguing movements in pop-culture history.

In the day when Hip Hop was known only to New Yorkers with a close ear to the street, a group of independent filmmakers set out to capture the explosive scene, making a number of seminal films that changed Hip Hop forever. It was through these films, such as Wild Style and Style Wars that the world at large became exposed to this rapidly growing phenomenon.

Thus began the long-standing relationship between Hip Hop and film that continues today. Film has been recognized as the perfect medium for capturing a visually and aurally fascinating culture. The evolution of Hip Hop can be observed through its films, from its captivating characters, to the graffiti art, its movement from the streets to MTV and back again, the story of Hip Hop is an incredible one, told best on film.

Festival Dates

SYDNEY 26-28 FEBRUARY 2004
Valhalla Cinema,
166d Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

MELBOURNE 4-6 MARCH 2004
ACMI Cinemas
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Federation Square

Pic: Wild Style, dir. Charlie Ahearn, 1983
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