The Hiphop Association Helps Bring Light To The Unseen In London

September 3, 2007 – (New York City) The Hip-Hop Association [H2A] is proud to partner with the bfm International Black Film Festival (BIFF) to provide a diverse segment of global Hip-Hop film programming from throughout the African Diaspora. The bfm International Film Festival is taking place from September 7–14 in London, England at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) and Stratford Circus.

BIFF is one of the premier black events held in London each year. The festival was established in 1999 with the aim of filling a void within London’s film exhibition scene. The work of many filmmakers had become virtually marginalized, and audiences, particularly within the African-Caribbean community, were eager to see films that reflected the cultural experience of the UK’s black communities. The festival’s purpose was, and still is, to make a difference by “bringing the unseen to light”.

This year, the festival will showcase at least a dozen of the films from the 2007 H2O International Film Festival. They will be presenting the UK premieres of Bling: A Planet Rock, I Love Hip Hop Morocco and the H2O award-winning films: for Best Feature Narrative, Wholetrain (Germany), and Best Feature Documentary, Wu: The Story of the Wu Tang Clan, (US) and the Freshest Youth Award Winner, The Hip-Hop Project (US). The creator of the Hip-Hop Project, Chris “Kazi” Rolle, will participate in a Q&A and will do special performance.

Other films screening include: H2O’s winner of the Best Feature Documentary, Mr. Devious (South Africa); Best Music Video, When the Gun Draws (Pharoahe Monch) (US); Best Short Documentary, Guilty or Innocent of Using the N Word; Like an Ambassador For His People (Senegal/Germany), B.L.A.C.K.: An Aboriginal Song of Hip-Hop (Australia); and a special screening of Charlie Ahearn’s, Bongo Barbershop (US/Tanzania).

Mona Ibrahim, the Hip-Hop Association’s Director of Community Building and Program Development says “Once again, we are proud to partner with BFM this year to present a myriad of stories celebrating the rich diversity within our Hip-Hop community, globally. The voice of the Hip-Hop filmmaker echoes loudly, resonating throughout the world. We have been blessed to provide a forum of exhibition for these films not only at our own festival, but also at other festivals, conferences, museums, and educational forums worldwide. We are excited to team up with BFM to help facilitate their mission of bringing the unseen to light and look forward to continued partnerships in the UK.”

For more information about the BFM festival and a complete schedule, please visit www.bfmmedia.com.

About the H2O:
H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] is the media initiative of the Hip-Hop Association. Our media activities includes the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival, the Odyssey Awards, and the Defuse Media Lab, its mission is to support the use of Hip-Hop culture as a tool for social awareness and youth empowerment. Through the development of innovative technological tools, the Hip-Hop Association has created opportunities for media distribution and information dissemination.

For more information, please log on to: www.hiphopassociation.org