While there have been a slew of graffiti documentaries that have come out in recent years: Piece by Piece, Infamy and Bomb It to name a few, Peter Gerard’s documentary, Just to Get a Rep, is described as “the definitive graffiti/hip-hop documentary.” And while some of its predecessors mentioned above might cost you $25 at Urban Outfitters, this one is FREE. You can download the entire doc from the film’s website.
Gerard’s self-funded, independent endeavor goes back thirty years to graffiti’s birth place: the neglected youth and streets of New York. With candid interviews from the legendary pioneers themselves and some of today’s leading artists from around the world, Just to Get a Rep reveals a whole lot of story and heart behind the art form. Whether they are escaping by re-creating their current environments, running from authorities, or examining the love-hate relationship between graffiti and hip-hop, there is never a dull moment in the world of aerosol art and Gerard’s film.-JM
No caffeine? No cars or buses? No electricity? Madness! Colin Beavan, in research for his new book, began the No Impact Project in November 2006 and a documentary was born. New to the environmentalist game, Beaven grew tired of his complacency and vowed to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible for 365 days. Beavan and his wife, Michelle Conlin, take their family on a yearlong experiment to live a zero waste lifestyle in New York City. For wife Michelle, a huge fan of Starbucks, taxis and all things designer, this endeavor proves to be a challenge and provides for some of the film’s most comedic moments. “Basically, this is easy for Colin and murder for me,” she says.
While the project has its share of tense family moments, the radical lifestyle change bonds the Beavan family together. Even Michelle is singing a different tune by the end of the doc and critics have said that the film title could have been called “No Impact Woman.” Whether this documentary leaves a lasting impact on the public’s eco-consciousness remains to be determined (the film starts a limited run on September 11th). Either way, No Impact Man is an entertaining and inspiring story of a family’s quest to save the environment, one person at a time.-JM
One of our first post was on a little band from SF called Street Score (Click Here to read article). When we last left our friends Marta, Pete, Dennis, and Will (also from SF’s Schande) they were slaving away on a new track/tribute for the documentary, Supercharged: The Life and Times of Tim Brauch. “Salami Shots” is now complete and Marta was kind enough to send us over the magic audio file.
Supercharged will premier at Camera Cinema 12 in San Jose Saturday, September 26th @ 7:00pm, and will travel to Victoria Theater in SF on Thursday, Oct. 1st.
Street Score will open the second day of the 11th Annual Tim Brauch Memorial Contest on Sunday, Sept. 27th in San Jose.-TC
Music lovers, documentary lovers, downloaders, DJ’s, (or anyone living for that matter) should check out Web activist/filmmaker Brett Gaylor’s feature documentary RiP: A remix manifesto. With mash-up artist Girl Talk at the forefront, the documentary explores copyright, intellectual property, piracy, and the idea of “free culture” in today’s internet age. Should people really go to jail for 5 years for downloading off Napster? While Lars Ulrich seems to think so, Girl Talk and other pop culture critics have a different take on it.
The San Francisco Film Society’s: SF360 Film+Club returns this Thursday (July 23rd) at The Mezzanine with a special edition, mash-up program featuring the documentary and a live set by mash-up VJ legends Eclectic Method. – JM
