December 05, 2007

World Up for Slingshot Hip-Hop



"About" World Up says this about World Up:
About Us

Founded in 2004, World Up is a non-profit organization (501c3 pending) dedicated to educating the public about international cultures, and issues that affect the global community through Hip-Hop and its related musics. Through our ongoing events, educational programming, and our annual music festival, we are actively promoting and fostering diversity, cross-cultural understanding, and social change through Hip-Hop culture.

World Up is run by a group of volunteers who come from diverse backgrounds and cultures but share a deep love for Hip-Hop and how it is used as a tool for social and political change. We have a well established network of artists, DJ´s, MC´s, Film makers, promoters, activists, and the like around the globe.

Well they seem to be the first site to carry the press release about this documentary featuring Palestinian Hip-Hop artists:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Slingshot Hip Hop

Selected as Part of 2008 Sundance Film Festival

Groundbreaking Film by Jackie Reem Salloum

Featuring Palestinian Hip-Hop Artists to Premier at Festival

New York, NY November 29, 2007--Organizers behind the 2008 Sundance Film Festival have announce that Slingshot Hip Hop, the first feature-length film on Palestinian Hip Hop has been selected to premier as part the 2008 Festival lineup.

Highlighting the cutting edge of emerging Middle Eastern youth culture, Slingshot Hip Hop is a documentary chronicling the lives of rappers living in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel successfully using Hip Hop as a platform to make their voices heard. Armed with artists sharp lyrics and infectious rhythms, the film offers a fresh and complex window into contemporary life in Palestine and Israel. Since its inception, the film has grown from a socio-political documentary into a multi-city educational initiative and two albums. Excitement from the trailer alone has resulted in growing global buzz.

Slingshot Hip Hop is director Jackie Reem Salloum's first feature length film following 3 independently produced shorts including Planet of the Arabs, an official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and a recipient of the Best Editing award at the 2005 CinemaTexas Film Festival.

Jackie Reem Salloum, the films Director stated, "It's been a massive collaborative effort to bring the story of these young men and women to the screen and we are thrilled to premier our efforts at Sundance. Slingshot Hip Hop is a reflection of the rappers themselves, a surreal collision between the Palestinian struggle and this now global, Black-American art form."

Drawing on the roots of both her immigrant family in the US and her family still in Palestine, Salloum is uniquely situated to provide a lens into the culture and struggle of the artists, while providing global audiences with a unique window into a oft overlooked society. Slingshot tells the story of these young Palestinian artists in search of hope, identity, and freedom as they use Hip Hop to express their message throughout their community and the rest of the world.
Slingshot will premier at Sundance Film Festival in January 2008.

For more information visit:
http://www.slingshothiphop.com/
And they very helpfully carry the trailer:


It might have been better to put the trailer at the top of the post. I know, I will!

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