SP!T the new film by Rotimi Rainwater is a
lyrical journey into the world of the spoken word movement.
Spoken word is an art form that has been around for centuries.
From the choruses of ancient Greece to the troubadours of
the Middle Ages to the Beat Movement to the Last Poets...
And now in the 21st century the Hip Hop cultural movement
adds its own verse to the book documenting our time.
Set in the public arena of regional competitions leading
up to the National Poetry Slam Championship, each poet must
be willing to work hard at their craft and have the courage
to bare their lives and souls into the mic. Rainwater follows
the hopes and dreams of four spoken word artists and a few
regional teams, as they battle it out to vie for the title
of best in the land.
There’s Mollie Angelheart, the divine dreamer who
struggles internally to claim her role as a spoken word
performer. Ove Salcedo who learns to find his voice from
the life lessons taught to him by personal tragedy. Poet/rapper/actor
Al B. Back (aka Al Daniels of “ATL”) a young
man whose mother and neighborhood inspire him to be a part
of the Hip Hop tradition and its legacy. And Shihan Van
Clief, a champion wordsmith and family man, who takes great
pride in speaking the truth about his art and mission as
a poet. Also featured are interviews with acclaimed poet
Nikki Giovanni, actor Woody Harrelson and Hip Hop mogul
Russell Simmons whose Def Poetry Jam put the spotlight on
spoken word poets giving them a national audience via HBO
and Broadway.
Rainwater brings a nice eye, heart, and an insider’s
POV to the film that’s energetic like the poet’s
that are featured. A wise person once said, "you can
judge a society’s greatness by how it treats it artists."
SP!T shows us that the voice of the poet is still alive
and well. And that even in an often cruel world, life can
be a beautiful struggle.
-- Darryl Wharton-Rigby and Darryl D. Pryor
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