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In
2006,
Street-2-Screen kicked off its inaugural
night with the graffiti feature film, QUALITY OF LIFE
at Hi-Dive. After the success of that night, and all who
rallied to make it a hit, we knew we had to do it again.
In
2008, Kaffeine Buzz has partnered with the Denver
Film Society and the exclusive engagement of the
global graffiti documentary, BOMB
IT, at the Starz Filmcenter, located
at 9th & Auraria Parkway in Denver.
Street-2-Screen
begins the celebration of graffiti culture and film
on Thursday, May 15, with the Denver Film Society’s
DocNight at the Starz FilmCenter at 7pm, featuring
an in-person appearance by the film’s award winning
director, Jon Reiss.
Featuring
street artists and top graffiti writers from five continents,
BOMB IT is the first film to update the story of graffiti
with a truly international perspective. Roughly 200
artists and personalities were interviewed, including
Cornbread, Lady Pink, acclaimed hip-hop artist and former
graffiti writer KRS-One, international
art machine Shepard Fairey, Brazilian
bombing twin brothers Os Gemeos, Mear One, Terrible
T-KID 170, Taki 183, Zephyr, Tribe, Ron English, Cope
2, KET, Chino, Revok, Pez, Faith47, and many
more.
Named
one of “10 Digital Directors to Watch” by
Daily Variety, Reiss has covered the West Coast punk
explosion, documented the notorious San Francisco performance
group Survival Research Laboratories, rave culture in
his debut feature-length documentary, BETTER LIVING
THROUGH CIRCUITRY, and directed a number of videos,
including NIN and Danzig.
“Before
I watched Jon Reiss’ BOMB IT I used to walk past
graffiti with no frame of history, purpose or direction
in the pieces,” said Keith Garcia, Denver
Film Society Programming Manager. “Now,
I feel like I can create a well informed opinion about
the role graffiti plays in our urban and global landscape.
Love it or hate it, graffiti has always been here and
will always be here.” The exclusive Denver engagement
for BOMB IT opens Friday, May 16 at the Starz Filmcenter.
“The
goal of this weekend is to bring people together to
not only celebrate this art form, but to also discuss
both sides of the issues, negative and positive, that
Denver has been experiencing when it comes to graffiti,”
said Kim Owens, the editor/owner of Kaffeine
Buzz. “My hope is to start a conversation
that can continue, one that can become starting point
to creating programs for Prevention that involve
supporting artists and providing outlets for expression;
tapping into the talent of our youth and those professional
artists that can beautify our city.”
Friday
night, May 16, the Street-2-Screen Party takes place
at Falcon Bowl (the newly renovated bowling-alley-meets-venue,
next to the Gothic Theatre) at 8pm, 16+, for
a night of hip-hop, old school and new, live graffiti,
b-boys, graffiti video mashups via the DVJ skills of
Anism and live silkscreening from IndyInk.
Headlining the night is San Francisco freestyle
master TopR, previously of
the Earthlings hip-hop collective and whose tracks have
appeared on the graffiti inspired feature film QUALITY
OF LIFE, as well as the graffiti documentary PIECE BY
PIECE, and who will perform with Foul Mouth
and ATM. The line up also includes Denver’s
Input, the founder of Fameless entertainment,
who has two albums under the belt and a third on the
way, Pictureface, due out this spring. Opening
the night and filling in any aural gaps is Drzen, who
will bring a bevy of classic hip-hop tracks from the
‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
The
night will also give back by donating the proceeds of
the silent auction, which will include the live graffiti
art pieces, and the all-night raffle to the Arts
Street Youth Program (www.arts-street.org),
which provides educational programs for Colorado’s
younger generation, incorporating real-world learning,
artistic expression, creative thinking, and education
of these youth to become tomorrow's professionals.
The
third day is rounded out on Saturday, May 17
at Starz Filmcenter for the Street-2-Screen Panel Day
from 2:00pm to 4:15pm, which aims to bring
the City of Denver and the graffiti community together
as panel members from each group discuss the past, present
and future aspects of graffiti in the city. From 2:00pm
to 3:00pm, the Education Panel
will present learning examples of how graffiti is used
as a positive outlet for the younger generation through
programs like the West High Mural Project, and how graffiti
art is adding to the “Quality of Life” in
our neighborhoods. From 3:15pm to 4:15pm,
the Commerce Panel will take a look
at how graffiti is appearing more in more in our overall
society, how entrepreneurs relied on their graffiti
foundation as a gateway to their business success, and
how Denver can incorporate this art form into our evolving
art culture while supporting its artists and giving
guidance to our younger generation’s entrepreneuristic
future.
More
details will be released in the coming weeks. So stay
tuned to www.kaffeinebuzz.com and www.street-2-screen.com
(launching Monday, April 21).
For
more information on BOMB IT, visit: http://bombit-themovie.com,
http://www.myspace.com/bombitthemovie,
and http://bombit-themovie.com/blog.
For
more information on the performers, visit: www.myspace.com/topr,
www.myspace.com/foulmouthjerk,
www.myspace.com/anothertightmexican,
www.myspace.com/inputhiphop,
www.myspace.com/uziegomusica.
For additional event information or interviews, contact:
Kim Owens, 303.394.4959, kowens-at-kaffeinebuzz.com.
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