Thug Life Army

The Hip-Hop Association has partnered with the esteemed Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) through a community collaboration to provide Hip-Hop film programming and a Hip-Hop panel during the 2006 festival.

PAFF, the largest Black Film Festival in the U.S., will be held from February 9 - 20, 2006 in Los Angeles at the Magic Johnson Theaters and Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. The 2006 PAFF program will showcase a diverse selection of quality films from the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the South Pacific and Canada, all showcasing the diversity and complexity of people of African descent.

Included in this selection will be a group of global Hip-Hop films from the highly acclaimed H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival, a media program of the Hip-Hop Association. These films include Hip-Hop Colony (Kenya); Favela Rising (Brazil/USA); La Fabri-K (Cuba); The Art of 16 Bars: Get Ya’ Bars Up (USA); Beef III (USA); Resistencia (UK/Colombia); Reflections on Women of Color and Hip-Hop (USA); Bling: Consequences and Repercussions (Sierra Leone/USA); and United Nations of Hip-Hop (USA/Senegal).

The Hip-Hop Association has also produced a panel for the festival entitled, “From Music Videos to Hollywood: Transitioning to Feature Filmmaking,” which will explore the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers who have been influenced by Hip-Hop culture and are bringing their flavor to Hollywood. Acclaimed music video directors who have successfully crossed over into feature filmmaking will discuss the challenges and secrets of successfully making that transition.  The panel takes place February 14, 2006 at 1 pm.  Confirmed panelists include: F. Gary Gray, Director, Friday, Set it Off, The Italian Job, Be Cool; Tim Story, Director, Barbershop, Taxi, Fantastic Four; Christopher Erskin, Director, Johnson Family Vacation; Jeff Byrd, Director King's Ransom, and Chris Robinson, Director of the upcoming Warner Bros. film ATL, the PAFF Closing Night film.

"The community of filmmakers inspired by Hip-Hop culture is much larger than many people realize. It is inspiring to see this work gaining increasing recognition with the help of PAFF.  These filmmakers have an important voice that resonates globally, enriching the entire filmmaking community," says Rolando Brown, Executive Director of the Hip-Hop Association.

For tickets, passes, and full festival details please visit www.paff.org.

HIP-HOP COLONY | Directed by Michael Wanguhu | Kenya | 90 min.

Feb. 10, 6 pm/ Feb. 14, 1:20 pm

A musically stirring examination of the rooting of Hip-Hop in Kenya where modern rhythms are adapted to traditional elements to create a local off-shoot known as “Genge” which unifies the country’s youth to creatively address the country's social and political issues.

BEEF III | Directed by Peter Spirer | USA | 84 min.

Feb. 10, 10:45 pm

Delves inside music beefs to illustrate why respect is so important in the Hip-Hop community, how artists deal wth security issues and how we can keep the beef away from the severity of gunplay.  From Harlem to Compton, featuring interviews with hip-hop and rap artists : The Game, 50 Cent, Nelly, Chingy, Snoop Dogg, Lil'' Flip, T.I., Twista, Scarface, Lil'' Scrappy, David Banner and more.

FAVELA RISING | Directed by Jeff Zimbalist, Matt Mochary | Brazil/USA | 80min.

Feb. 11, 1:30 pm/Feb. 17, 5:55 pm

Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through Hip-Hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.

LA FABRI-K | Directed by Lisandro Perez-Rey | Cuba| 62 min.

Feb. 13, 3:10 pm

Emerging from Cuba’s cultural vibrancy is a new art form, a unique brand of Hip-Hop. Two of its leaders, the groups Obsesion and Doble Filo, have formed the collective La Fabri-K in an effort to showcase their art and to raise political consciousness.  Live musicianship is central to their art, and here we see them travel from shabby Cuban apartments to the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem to open for the Roots and Kanye West.

REFLECTIONS ON WOMEN OF COLOR & HIP-HOP | Directed by Nuala Cabral | USA | 34 min.

Feb. 13, 3:15pm/Feb. 17,6:05 pm

Through honest and at times humorous dialogue as well as personal testimony, young people challenge each other and speak critically about something they love: Hip-Hop.  In particular, they explore the controversial relationship between women of color and Hip-Hop music, and try to justify or refute causes, effects and solutions while still embracing the culture they admire.

BLING: CONSEQUENCES & REPERCUSIONS | Directed by Kareem Edouard | Sierra Leone /USA | 11 min.

Feb. 15, 6 pm/ Feb. 19, 8:45 pm

Tackles the issues behind Hip-Hop’s obsession with diamonds and the continued illegal diamond trade in Africa and aims to educate the Hip-Hop generation about the murder and carnage caused by the world’s greed for diamonds. Narrated by Chuck D.

RESISTENCIA: HIP-HOP IN COLOMBIA | Directed by Tom Feiling | UK/Colombia | 54 min.

Feb. 15, 6 pm/Feb. 19, 8:45 pm

Resistencia offers a rare look at the Hip-Hop street subculture in civil war-torn Colombia, while at the same time exploring how traditional Latino music is being infiltrated by rap. The film explores how young Colombians feel about the crisis afflicting their country and the impact it has on their lives.  Caught between left wing guerillas and right wing paramilitaries, these youths turn to Hip-Hop as a way to express their points of view on the realities forced upon them by long-running violence, cultural crisis and the global cocaine trade.

UNITED NATIONS OF HIP-HOP | Directed by Christina Choe | USA/Senegal | 9:30 min.

Feb. 15, 6pm/Feb. 19, 8:45 pm

In this short documentary about Hip-Hop and globalization in Senegal, West Africa, MC's talk about African debt dependency, Islam, unemployment, and poverty over powerful beats.  Interviews with the Senegalese Hip-Hop community is accompanied by stunning footage of Tupac murals, mosques, and barefooted b-boys.

THE ART OF 16 BARS: GET YA'' BARS UP | Directed by Peter Spirer | USA | 82 min.

Feb. 16, 9:55 pm/Feb. 17, 9:55 pm

Legendary Emcees speak on their approach to live performances, freestyling, songwriting, their environment, getting signed, dealing with the labels, their money and fame.  Featuring interviews with hip-hop and rap artists Kanye West, Rakim, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Nas, Slick Rick, Q-Tip, Method Man, Common, Russell Simmons, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Redman, Jadakiss, Twista, Guru, Raekwon, MC Lyte, and Kool Moe Dee among others.

About the Hip-Hop Association

Founded in March 2002, the Hip-Hop Association [H2A] was formed to facilitate, foster, and preserve Hip-Hop culture. Producers of the largest Hip-Hop film festival and education summit in the world, its mission is to utilize Hip-Hop culture as a tool to encourage critical thinking, social change and unity, while empowering communities through media, education, and preservation and leadership initiatives. For more information, please visit www.hiphopassociation.org

About PAFF

Launched in February 1992 by founder Ayuko Babu, the Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) is dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression.  PAFF will feature panel discussions, industry workshops and seminars in addition to its film showcases. For more information visit http://www.paff.org