FROM THE CREW THAT BROUGHT YOU BLACK DYNAMITE... THE SECOND ANNUAL OAKLAND UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL. LIVE MUSIC, DJS, OPEN-AIR SCREENINGS, TACO TRUCKS, BEER & SPIRITS. OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION 5:00pm (GRAND TAVERN). OPENING NIGHT PARTY 9:00pm (GRAND TAVERN). ALL SHOWS $10
Pre-Festival throw down - coolhandlukenanny Sept 22nd, 9pm FREE
2010 Festival Program
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23rd
7:00pm THUNDER SOUL (GRAND LAKE THEATER)
It was afros and pleated shirts; James Brown and Bootsy Collins. It was the '70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Charismatic band leader, Conrad "Prof" Johnson would turn the school's mediocre jazz band into a legendary funk powerhouse. Now, 35 years later, his students prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives, the 92-year-old Prof. Some haven't played their horns in decades, still they dust off their instruments determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they've still got it.
Website: http://www.thundersoulmovie.com
9:00pm AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE (GRAND LAKE THEATER)
The feature-length documentary "American Grindhouse" explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment. Exploitation Cinema has left an indelible mark on American culture, and this informative and amusing documentary proves that its principles and popularity endure to this day.
Website: http://americangrindhouse.com/
Grand Lake Theater
3200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA 94610
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24th
6:00pm LIGHT & SOUND (EXPANDED STRANGELET)
Facades lit by the Illuminated Corridor Department of Public Works
7:00pm LIGHT & SOUND (DJ - TBA)
8:00pm WE DONT CARE ABOUT MUSIC ANYWAY (LINDEN STREET BREWERY)
From radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classical instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo's avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness.
While introducing some of the greatest musicians of this scene, "We Don't Care About Music Anyway..." offers a kaleidoscopic view of Tokyo, confronting music and noise, sound and image, reality and representation, documentary and fiction. "We don't care about music anyway"... In other words, "we make it and that's all". Beyond the music and beyond its performance, the future and mode of existence of a city, and society as a whole, are in motion...
9:30pm ROCKSTEADY: ROOTS OF REGGAE
(LINDEN STREET BREWERY)
Rocksteady is the direct predecessor of Jamaican Reggae. Rocksteady has sparse rhythmic accompaniment and a relaxed feel allowing the vocalist more expressive musical phrasing and greater lyrical freedom. All these elements were retained in Reggae. Rocksteady songs have a subtle sound, intimate character and beautifully expressive vocals. "The story of Rocksteady has never been told ... It's been my privilege to have met the musicians who played the music, and that they shared their stories with me." - Stascha Bader. The outcome is Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae, which is Bader's first feature film.
Website: http://www.rocksteadyrootsofreggae.com/
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25th
10:00am THUNDER SOUL (GRAND LAKE THEATER)
It was afros and pleated shirts; James Brown and Bootsy Collins. It was the '70s, and an inner-city Houston high school was about to make history. Charismatic band leader, Conrad "Prof" Johnson would turn the school's mediocre jazz band into a legendary funk powerhouse. Now, 35 years later, his students prepare to pay tribute to the man who changed their lives, the 92-year-old Prof. Some haven't played their horns in decades, still they dust off their instruments determined to retake the stage to show Prof and the world that they've still got it.
Website: http://www.thundersoulmovie.com
4:30-7:30pm YAK FILMS DANCE BATTLE
(LINDEN STREET BREWERY)
Bring your friends, the kids, parents, grandparents, and neighbors, this is your chance to see the best young Bay Area break-dance-derivative dancers in action. TURF FEINZ dancers such as Dreal, ENinja, Booka, No Noize, Wah Wah, Leon "Man" Williams Jr., and Tee "BJ" Stevens are heroes and greeted to crowds of tens of thousands when competing in Europe's JUSTE DEBOUT event. Show your support for Bay Area youth engaged in a world-class form of artistic expression.
A cash prize will be awarded to the best 2 man (or woman) Bay Area Turf, House, Breaking, Krump, Poppin, or Freestyle dance team who can dance to any kind of music. For more information and registration for battle go to: http://www.yakfilms.com/ / email: kash@yakfilms.com
7:30pm YAK LIKE YOU KNOW
OAKUFF 2010 COMPILATION SCREENING (Q&A)
The Bay's own YAK FILMS was founded by Yoram Savion and Kash Gaines. Some folks in the Bay might be surprised to learn that a dance form reigning from their own back yard has captured the imagination of people all around the world. Demonstrating the skill and artistry one finds in the best documentarians, short filmmakers and music video producers (but more guts, funk and soul than most of them can even begin to comprehend), this young filmmaking team is truly one of the Bay's most significant points of filmmaking pride, turning out hundreds of works of cinematic art, each with a compelling story behind it. Not just for dance lovers, these short films are historical documentation of a time and place in Oakland, the Bay Area and beyond. If you are a documentary or short film aficionado, do not miss this chance to see our special YAK LIKE YOU KNOW - OAKUFF 2010 COMPILATION SCREENING with special Q&A commentary by Kash Gaines.
Linden Street Brewery
95 Linden Street
Suite 7/8 (at W Embarcadero)
Oakland, CA 94607
8:00pm MAMACHAS DEL RING (LINDEN STREET BREWERY)
Set in the heights of the Bolivian Andes, Mamachas del Ring is the story of Carmen Rosa the Champion, a cholita and wrestler who struggles to make it on her own in the male-dominated world of Bolivian professional wrestling.
In 2004, Carmen Rosa was at the forefront of a cholita wrestler revolution. Never before had Bolivia seen an indigenous woman take her petticoats and bowler hat into the ring, and the crowds couldn't get enough. Along with three other cholitas, Carmen became an international star, and all four were anointed the Mamachas of the Ring.
The film begins in 2006, shortly after their return from a star-making turn on Peruvian TV—but their rapid success has come at a price. Jealousy and envy begin to ripple throughout the wrestling community, and eventually they are black-listed from performing in Bolivia's main wrestling league by its notoriously egotistical league commissioner, Don Juan Mamani.
Betrayed but not discouraged, the Mamachas take matters into their own hands. They pound the pavement organizing their own shows, contracting media appearances, and traveling for days to perform across Bolivia, often to paltry crowds who can barely afford to pay the entrance fee. They were the first indigenous women to wrestle; they were the revolutionary stars. Now they are the first women wrestlers to manage their own business and contracts, desperately hoping to regain their crowns.
The pressures of daily living and gendered responsibilities begin to eat away at the foundation of the Mamachas, and Carmen Rosa increasingly shoulders more of the work burden. Her day job as a street vendor begins to suffer and her attention to her family dwindles, until one day her husband issues her a firm ultimatum: wrestling or your family.
Website: http://www.mamachasdelring.com/
9:30pm AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE (LINDEN STREET BREWERY)
The feature-length documentary "American Grindhouse" explores the hidden history of the American Exploitation Film. The movie digs deep into this often overlooked category of U.S. cinema and unearths the shameless and occasionally shocking origins of this popular entertainment. Exploitation Cinema has left an indelible mark on American culture, and this informative and amusing documentary proves that its principles and popularity endure to this day.
Website: http://americangrindhouse.com/
VOLUNTEER FOR THE FESTIVAL
Contact: kendra@oakuff.org