the Maysles cinema presents the 15th-anniversary celebration of slam
PART OF A 4-DAY MASTERCLASS WITH MARC LEVIN
(December 5-8, 2013)
On December 5th, the Maysles Cinema brings you the film that captivated critics and judges from Sundance to Cannes and turned slam poetry into the global phenomenon it is today: Marc Levin's SLAM. Join Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Bonz Malone, Bob Holman, Liza Jessie Peterson, Richard Stratton and Marc Levin at the Dempsey Auditorium in Harlem for the 15th Anniversary of this seminal film and the first gathering of the talent behind it since 1998.In the nights to follow, the Maysles Cinema will journey back through Levin's decades of filmmaking with works that explore defining themes in our collective psyche: race, class, politics, religion and urban identity—themes that provide a lens through with to examine injustice at every level in modern America. In addition to SLAM, the Masterclass will include the following screenings: WHITEBOYZ, a humorous take on the no man's land where black and white meet in popular culture; a preview of Levin’s in-progress documentary FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM, followed by MR. UNTOUCHABLE for a look at the world of gangster capitalism through the stories of real American Gangsters, LA’s “Freeway” Rick Ross and Harlem's own Nicky Barnes (featuring a Q&A with Ross himself and Joseph ‘Jazz’ Hayden of Barnes’ Heroin Council, live in the same program); GANG WARS: BACK IN THE HOOD; and PROTOCOLS OF ZION, Levin's journey to unfold the ancient conspiracy theory that re-emerged after 9/11: blame it on the Jews. Sunday's Masterclass session on Documenting Urban America will include clips from BRICK CITY, CAPTURED and CHICAGOLAND.