First Annual Hip Hop Film Festival Starts Today

Los Angeles, CA (Stronghouse Records) - Since its birth, the Hip Hop Film Festival (HHFF) has introduced tens of thousands of viewers, participants, press, media, and the marketplace to films in more than 30 cities and 15 countries worldwide.

The 2006 Hip Hop Film Festival will be held at UCLA's Royce Hall, rooms 314 and 306, January 19-22 from 12pm-10pm.The four day festival will screen numerous feature films, shorts, experimental and documentaries coupled with discussion panels regarding Hip-hop culture and its influence on film and on society at large. Panelists will include a unique mix of renowned filmmakers, artists, professors, writers, leaders, and activists from around the world.

The HHFF will culminate with a closing night party on Sunday, Jan. 22nd, 9pm @ Cinespace in Hollywood, featuring exclusive performances from live MC's KRS-One, Medusa, Sunspot Jonez, Omni, Substance Abuse, and rocking the turntables DJ, Kilu & Marvski & live art by Heavyweight.

The festival will premier theatrical films such as RockStar Games new documentary Sunday Drive, Doug Pray's (Scratch) Infamy as well as classic hip-hop films such as Wild Style w/ director Charlie Ahern in present, Style Wars, Rock Fresh, Street Legendz, and Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme www.organicfilms.com

The UCLA Department of Musicology will also dedicate an issue of its online academic journal, ECHO, to interviews with participants and articles regarding the films and the festival. The Department of Ethnomusicology will also add recordings of the interviews to their Ethnomusicology Archive, where future generations of scholars will be able to make use of the material for research and educational purposes.

The Hip-Hop Film Festival present films that speak with a true voice to all generations and cultures worldwide, representing the real values of hip-hop: Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Freedom, Justice, Equality, Respect, Unity, Love, and Peace. The festival serves as a dedicated forum in which these values - and the people who live by them - can be celebrated, examined, and understood.
For more information visit: www.hiphopfilmfestival.com