Afro-Punk: The Rock is a 66-minute documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 directed by James Spooner

James Spooner

For the railway engineer, see The Spooners of PorthmadogJames Spooner is the director of Afro-punk, a documentary film exploring race identity in the punk scene. He produced his film mostly out of New York, having had no previous training in film...

, exploring race identity within the punk scene across America and abroad. The film focuses on the lives of four people dedicated to the punk rock lifestyle, interspersed with interviews from scores of black punk rockers from all over the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The interviews cover issues of loneliness, exile, interracial dating, black power, and the dual lives led by people of color in communities that are primarily white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

.

Afro-Punk features performances by Bad Brains

Bad Brains

Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...

, Tamar Kali, Cipher, and Ten Grand. It also contains exclusive interviews by members of Fishbone

Fishbone

Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

, 24-7 Spyz

24-7 Spyz

24-7 Spyz are a band from the South Bronx, New York, formed in 1986, originally consisting of Jimi Hazel , Rick Skatore , Kindu Phibes , and P. Fluid . The band is best known for mixing soul, funk, reggae, and R&B with heavy metal and hardcore punk...

, Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys

Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....

, Candiria

Candiria

Candiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...

, Orange 9mm

Orange 9mm

Orange 9mm was a post-hardcore band from New York City formed in 1994 by Chaka Malik and Chris Traynor after the breakup of Malik's band Burn.-History:...

 and TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....

, among others. In 2003 the documentary was featured at the American Black Film Festival

American Black Film Festival

The American Black Film Festival is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on works by Black members of the film industry. It has been called “the nation’s most prominent film festival.” The festival is held annually and features full-length narratives, short films, mobile...

 in South Beach

South Beach

South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...

 and the Pan African Film & Arts Festival, and won an Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

, an Audience Award at the Black Harvest International Film and Video Festival in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, an award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking at the Roxbury Film Festival

Roxbury Film Festival

The Roxbury Film Festival is an annual event held in the historic Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. RFF is co-produced by the non-profits ACT Roxbury and The Color of Film Collaborative...

 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, and an award for Best Documentary at the International Jamerican Film and Music Festival in Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

.

Spooner, and many others active in the Afro-punk

Afro-punk

Afro-punk refers to the participation of African Americans and other black people in the punk and alternative music cultures. Afro-punks make up a minority in the North American punk scene...

 community, host regular concerts in the New York City area and elsewhere that feature Afro-punk identified bands. At these shows, the majority of the audience is usually made up of African American musicians, singers, songwriters, fans, activists, organizers, and artists who have distinct and diverse ties to the Afro-punk community.

Matt Davis, guitarist and vocalist of Ten Grand, died on August 10, 2003, shortly after his appearance in Afro-Punk.

See also

• List of American films of 2003
• Afro-punk
  Afro-punk
  Afro-punk refers to the participation of African Americans and other black people in the punk and alternative music cultures. Afro-punks make up a minority in the North American punk scene...
  
  
• Afro-Punk Compilation Record Vol. 1
• Black Rock Coalition
  Black Rock Coalition
  The Black Rock Coalition is a New York-based artists' collective and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative freedom and works of black musicians....
  
  

External links

• Afro-punk Official Site
• Afro-Punk interview at Smallworld podcast
• AfroPunk at multiracial.com
• Afro-Punk at Filmmonthly