NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

September 2005 •English

The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.

Crash 'n' Burn

January 1977 •English

Crash 'n' Burn is an experimental film shot in and named after Toronto, Ontario's first punk rock club. (Not to be confused with Peter Vronsky's similarly titled 1977 documentary on the Toronto punk scene made for the CBC television network.) The film, shot on 16mm black-and-white stock, features performances by Dead Boys, Teenage Head, The Boyfriends, and The Diodes".

The Fall of Cannonsville

January 2023 •English

Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s the communities of Cannonsville, Granton, Rock Rift, Rock Royal, Johnny Brook and Beerston, NY were destroyed to make way for the Cannonsville Reservoir. The reservoir would serve as the last piece of New York City’s growing water infrastructure in a battle of upstate versus downstate. 60 years after vacating or moving their homes, former residents gather at their annual town reunion to reflect and reminisce on their memories and the collective trauma that they share.

This Is Our Scene Too!

May 2016 •Indonesian

A documentary about women in the Indonesian DIY hardcore/punk scene, including interviews with musicians, photographers, and zine-makers.

Beat Makers

September 2007 •English

A documentary that charts the never ending hustle of up and coming, as well as seasoned hip-hop producers.

Prinzessinnenbad

May 2007 •English

A film about three teenagers - Klara, Mina and Tanutscha - from the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The trio have known each other since Kindergarten and have plenty in common. The three 15-year-olds are the best of friends; they are spending the summer at Prinzenbad, a large open-air swimming pool at the heart of the district where they live. They're feeling pretty grown up, and are convinced they've now left their childhood behind.

X Tutto Questo Tempo

December 2018 •Italian

At the end of 2018 Colle Der Fomento, the most enduring italian hip hop group, were about to release “Adversus”, a full album after more than a decade since their previous classic “Anima e Ghiaccio”, for this movie the group (along with the producer Dj Craim) opened the doors of their rehearsal room to the cameras and released an in-depth interview about the development “Adversus” and the themes of each track.

Step Up and Be Vocal

January 2001 •English

Interviews from 1999, with some queer artists, activists and bands about queer punk, feminist concepts and actions. Filmed during a trip to San Francisco.

Pestilent City

March 1967 •English

Pestilent City covers Manhattan from South to North, from Times Square to Harlem, finding along the way ever more poverty, violence, rage and tragic drunkenness.

Here We Come

November 2006 •English

The story of hip hip behind the iron curtain.

Who Is Poly Styrene?

January 1979 •English

Originally aired as part of the Arena series, this BBC biography of Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex. She is one of the first black women singer-songwriters in the early New Wave/Punk scene.

The Writing on the Wall

December 1986 •English

"In this half-hour documentary, Producer Sandra King provides an intimate portrait of a public phenomenon: Graffiti. Over an 18 month period, King and her crew followed the teenage members of a graffiti 'crew,' Vandals on the Street, as they painted and rapped and moved through the streets of downtown Newark. What emerges is a unique glimpse behind the 'tags' at the kind of inner city kids who write on walls, but who also make art; who create out of wedlock children, but who also form binding relationships; who drop out of school and never read a book, but who create their own brand of poetry through the medium of 'rap.'

Collective Unconsciousness: The Not Dead Yet Story

June 2016 •English

"Collective Unconsciousness: The Not Dead Yet Story" explores the annual Not Dead Yet festival that takes place in Toronto. This documentary dives into what makes the festival great and the impact it makes on the city's hardcore/punk scene. "Collective Unconsciousness: The Not Dead Yet Story" also features performances from bands that played in 2015, shot up close to give the viewer the feel that they are there. Features performances by S.H.I.T., V.C.R., Power Trip, Title Fight, Career Suicide and more alongside interviews with members of Dress Code, Title Fight, I.C.E. and more.

Nobody Knows My Name

January 1999 •English

A film about women who love and make hip-hop music. These artists strive through the erasures and obstructions of a heavily male-dominated industry.

42nd Street: River to River

November 2009 •English

An impressionistic, graphic history of one of the world's most infamous streets: Manhattan's 42nd Street. Likened to a DNA strip of New York City, the street has ranged from the glamorous to the derelict, housing everything from peep shows to such international institutions as the United Nations. The documentary is an exploration of the street's expansion from the farmland where Washington bivouacked his troops to the flashy, commercial center that it is today. With historical information, musical performances and personal narratives, the film traces the rise, subsequent dilapidation, and eventual resurgence of a street that has come to represent a place where, notoriously, anything may and has happened.

Strange Days Diary NYC

March 2024 •English

One neighborhood in New York City, March 2020: the coronavirus is spreading rapidly, the federal government is clueless, and life seems increasingly surreal. A month later, the city has become an epicenter of the pandemic as the death rate spirals upwards. Then the racial justice protests erupt... Strange Days Diary NYC is an intimate account of living through a disruptive, frightening, yet inspiring time.

There Is No Authority But Yourself

January 2006 •English

A Dutch documentary about the history of the anarchist punk band Crass. The film features archival footage of the band, and interviews with former members Steve Ignorant, Penny Rimbaud and Gee Vaucher.

Spit Gold Under an Empire

Invalid date •English

Short documentary on underground rap culture in New York City.

Rize

January 2005 •English

A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.

Criminal Minded: Live at the Crime Scene

December 2019 •German