If you love movies and you love hip hop, this announcement is for you. The Harlem Film House’s Hip Hop Film Festival is returning this year for its fifth season and you’re definitely not going to want to miss it.
Actor Omari Hardwick is being honored as the recipient for the Living Icon award. Thus, he will speak at Master Cypher with Theo Rossi on Sunday, August 9 at 6 p.m. about his career, the arts and much more. This cypher will benefit the Harlem Film House.
Like every year, the Hip Hop Festival will be filled with great activations, which include live events attendees can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes via 247films.tv.
Watch Hardwick’s announcement below.
“The festival’s theme this year is STORIES THAT MATTER, putting a special focus on the many genres that filmmakers from the culture cover,” a press release reads. “Over 200 films and screenplays made the cut.. here are some special features from each category.”
Special Features:
ZULU RETURN:
A movie celebrating the accomplishments of Africa Bambatta turns in to a voyeuristic documentation of a man trapped in the middle of a heinous scandal.
PROSPECT PARK:
A modern-day quirky comedy following the misadventures of a group of millennials as they navigate life, love, and careers in the Prospect Park area.
Categories:
BLACK STORIES THAT MATTER: The best directors from the culture bring you stories highlighting the politics, pain and joy of Black life.
AFRO:
After multiple encounters with her bully and a little academic inspiration, an African- American teen girl finally stands up for herself against classmates that question her cultural identity.
SAFE SPACE:
Filmmaker Leon Oldstrong takes viewers on a deeply personal journey through his experiences with racism.
WOMAN-LED STORIES THAT MATTER: The best female directors from the culture bring you stories on every theme in the human spectrum.
BROKEN BIRD:
A biracial girl caught between two worlds prepares for her Bat Mitzvah and adulthood.
HOUSE OF BALLS:
After dumping her fiancé, Sam discovers a female dodgeball league that makes her face her biggest threat: herself.
SCARY STORIES THAT MATTER: The best directors from the culture bring you social horror stories that will chill you to the bone.
MOURNING MEAL:
After the tragic loss of her son, Cheryl, a grieving mother, adopts a new philosophy, one that changes her outlook on life and grief. One where suffering has become a dear friend… that must be shared.
BLIGHT:
A grieving young girl with supernatural abilities seeks vengeance after the racially charged officer-involved shooting of her teenage brother.
DRAMATIC STORIES THAT MATTER: The best directors from the culture bring the drama.
WASHED:
Desperate, pressed and WASHED up, a group of aging millennials attain everything they NEVER wanted — their dreams.
DOPE COUNTY:
This film explores the life of Money Jit, a young Black man from an underserved community in central Florida confronted by the ongoing struggles of being targeted by the criminal justice system.
REAL STORIES THAT MATTER: The best directors from the culture bring real life front and center with these amazing documentaries.
THE PURSUIT OF GREATNESS:
A glimpse into the digitalization of hip hop culture.
IN SEARCH OF RUN DMC:
Nick Light and Andrew Katz meet in Hollis, Queens to explore the neighborhood and rediscover notable locations that factored into the mid-1980s emergence of Hip Hop supergroup Run-DMC.
SCI-FI STORIES THAT MATTER: The best directors from the culture take you to another world with thrills, chills, superpowers and some aliens thrown in for good measure.
THE GOLDEN RECORD:
Taino, an eager extraterrestrial, embarks on a personal journey with his doubting best friend to find his lost family.
JUST A PHASE:
A low-level JPL researcher must figure out the strange powers of a mysterious device found hidden in her car to save herself from the deadly government forces that are now targeting her.
Other categories include: Funny Stories That Matter, Lit Stories That Matter and Global Stories That Matter.
More information about the 2020 Hip Hop Festival, see its full lineup, and to get passes, click here.