Settle down, BAM. You just rocked our worlds with the first BAMcinemaFEST and now you’re already onto the next festival? I guess that’s how things are done in Brooklyn. Tonight brings the full-fledged kick-off of the fifth annual Afro-Punk Festival, which, in addition to outdoor concerts, features five days of film screenings (the 3rd through the 8th). There’s also an outdoor skate park in the BAM parking lot, but unless Tony Hawk and other experts have taken over the scene, be forewarned. Watching thirty amped up, not especially awesome youngsters careening into one another, as well as the pavement, was one of the more harrowing four minutes I experienced last year.
As for the films, tonight’s program consists of Dee Rees’ Eventual Salvation at 6:50pm, followed by Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist’s Favela Rising (playing with Brian Paupaw’s short film Hoods to Woods) at 9:30pm.
The main event appears to be happening on Sunday. In honor of this week’s 20th anniversary of the release of Do The Right Thing, a Spike Lee trifecta has been assembled: Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads w/ The Making of Do The Right Thing (2pm), The Huey P. Newton Story (4:30pm) and Do The Right Thing (7:30pm).
There is a lot more goodness to be found, so be sure to visit the festival’s main page to learn more. Don’t sleep, kids.
— Michael Tully
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Just watched a kid smash half of his face in doing a trick over in the skate park. Godspeed to all the Afro Punk skaters!
Comment by Brandon Harris - July 4th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I told you so. I passed by there this morning when it was empty and I still found it hard to look.
Comment by Michael Tully - July 5th, 2009 at 12:38 pm