SMART Project Space | 1e Constantijn Huygensstraat 20, Amsterdam

SMART Project Space presents free video programs in SMART Cinema, curated b=
y Lee Ellickson
The Down Size: Thug Life

Sunday September 8 & Wednesday September 11, 17.00 hrs.

David Wilson, Magic City (2000, USA, 20 min.)
Moberly, Missouri is a boomtown gone bust, but still known as the Magic Cit=
y. In this filmzine, David Wilson goes looking for his lost friends, but st=
umbles into the weirdness of small town subculture. Covering youth culture =
from skateboarding to heavy metal and crustal meth, Magic City cuts and pas=
tes beautiful scenes from a dying downtown with hilariously real interviews=
with local kids. Virgins, cowboys and punks all step in front of the camer=
a to tell the world what's wrong and right with rural America.
Josh Koury, Standing by Yourself (2002, USA, 57 min.)
Filmed over the course of a year, Standing by Yourself is the story of Kour=
y's brother Adam, his friend Josh Siegfried, and several of their friends g=
rowing up in the upstate New York town of Clinton. Adam's principal occupat=
ions are smuggling liquor into shopping malls, smoking joints while riding =
around in cars and raiding the shelves of the local CVS for the cough cyrup=
he chugs down to obtain what he and his friends call a 'tussin high'. This=
loosely-knit group are working-class outsiders brought together by their r=
ebellious lifestyle, their single-parent homes, kids who feel trapped by an=
unsympathetic environment. Standing by Yourself is produced with a series =
of low-cost home video cameras capturing raw behaviour in what might well b=
e a literally offhand way: beyond the hand-held camera this is the hand-dan=
gled, twisting in the wind of chance as Josh Koury wanders through the wood=
en houses, mobile homes and fast-food joints that are the loci of his broth=
er's existence.

Sunday September 15 & Wednesday September 18, 17.00 hrs.

Richard Rowley & Jacquie Soo-Hen, Black & Gold: The Latin King and Queen Na=
tion (2000, USA, 76 min.)
This documentary tells the story of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Natio=
n, a street nation of Latino youth in New York City. The Nation's story be=
gins in Chicago in the 1940's when the Latin Kings formed as a Latin self-d=
efence group. Like so many other groups that struggle for political empower=
ment, the Latin Kings were broken as a movement. They lost touch with their=
roots and grew into one of the largest and most infamous criminal gangs in=
America. In 1994, in the face of an increasingly racist political culture =
and an escalation in police violence, the Latin Kings realized that they ha=
d become part of the problem in their communities, playing out roles scrip=
ted for them by a racist social and economic structure. The Nation broke wi=
th its criminal past and transformed into a grass-roots political group wor=
king in the poor Latino sections of New York, providing a positive empoweri=
ng example around which Latino youth can construct their identity and their=
difference. The product of one year filming on the front lines of New York=
City, Black&Gold combines the testimony of Kings and Queens with a fast-pa=
ced stream of images and hip-hop beats that capture the texture of their st=
ruggle and of the urban landscape within it takes place.

Sunday September 22 & Wednesday September 25, 17.00 hrs.

Jason Blalock, High Rocks (2000, USA, 19 min.)
Every summer, dozens of people drown in Portland, Oregon's swift and cold r=
ivers. High Rocks tells the story of a swimming hole just outside of Portla=
nd, inhabited by a mix of drop-outs, druggies, drifters, and rebellious you=
th. Despite efforts by the understaffed police and fire departments, mayhem=
has continued at High Rocks State Park for decades, and shows little time =
for stopping. While investigating the root cause of mysterious accidents ev=
ery summer, Jason Blalock brings us life at a swimming hole in a portrait t=
hat is at once shocking, hilarious, and ultimately disturbing.
Jon Leone, Receiver (2002, USA, 20 min.)
A documentary investigating the unpredictable subculture of Backyard Wrestl=
ing, a sport organized by teenagers around the country in order to alleviat=
e small town boredom. Taking the showbiz antics of pro-wrestling even furth=
er than pay-per-view allows, these kids create elaborate, scripted theatric=
s with very real dangers-jumping off rooftops, throwing competitors into po=
ols of thumbtacks, pummelling each other with lawn furniture.
EMINEM, Mark Brooks & Peter Gilstrap, Slim Shady Show (2001, USA, 30 min.)
EMINEM's alter ego in a sharp ridiculing parody of popular media from his o=
wn unique perspective.
Abdul Abbott, Streets is Watching (1989, USA, 60 min.)
Hip-hop celebrity Jay-C takes you on his private tour of street life of the=
source of the basis of his music.

Sunday September 29 and Wednesday October 2, 17.00 hrs.

Adam Ripp, Gang Tapes (2001, USA, 81 min.)
A brutally 'in-your-face' film about growing up in South Central, as seen t=
hrough the eyes of 13 year old Kris Noland played by Trivell whose captivat=
ing performance stirs the pot of emotions. After stealing a video camera, K=
ris decides to give the world a glimpse of his life by filming his 'rise' t=
o moral corruption, as a gang takes him in with open arms. With a highly un=
ique style, Ripp doesn't look to simply depict a young boy's misguided path=
to violence. Gang Tapes is also an exploration of a sub-culture whose cons=
tant pressures and glorification of the gun leave few alternatives for its =
members.

Sunday October 6 & Wednesday October 9, 17.00 hrs.

Excerpts from: How to Rap in the Style of Gangsta
An instructional video
Peter Spirer, Tupack Shakur: Thug Angel (2002, USA, 92 min.)
A documentary about the myth and life of the notorious Tupack Shakur

Sunday October 13 & Wednesday October16, 17.00 hrs.

Leigh Savidge, Welcome to Death Row (2001, USA, 104 min.)
This is a documentary of Suge Knights death row records, that gained a repu=
tation as the most provocative label in recent rap music history. It chroni=
cles the hysterical sequence of events and the over the top manoeuvring of =
the players involved in this out of control endeavour.
Dr. Dre, Murder was the Case (2000, USA, 72 min.)
In beloved memory of Calvin Broadis (1972-1994). Wu Tang Clanner Dr. Dre hi=
mself directs Snoop Doggy Dog in a mini feature that provides our hero with=
a new series of props and chronics to work out. With a few songs thrown in=
for good measure.

The exhibition Thug Life runs from September 8 through October 13.



SMART Project Space | www.smartprojectspace.net
Exhibition Space & Cinema: 1e Const. Huygensstraat 20
Opening times: Tues-Sat from 12.00-22.00, Sun from 14.00-22.00 hrs.
Mail to: P.O.Box 15004, NL-1001 MA Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 427.5951
Fax.: +31 20 427.5953
mail: info@smartprojectspace.net

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