The feature documentary Shake the Dust has released April 14 as a 30-day exclusive digital download on Vimeo on Demand. NYC-based film distributor BOND/360 plans a national, limited theatrical rollout beginning May 15 in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theater.
Shake the Dust, from director and photographer Adam Sjöberg and executive producer Nasir “Nas” Jones, is about breakdancing and hip-hop culture in unlikely places. This visual tale weaves a colorful tapestry of dance, music and stories from the drug and poverty battered streets of Cambodia, the untouched wild landscape of Yemen, the underground hip-hop “families” of Colombia and the embattled and poverty-stricken streets of Uganda.
The documentary illuminates the complicated but transcendent history of hip-hop itself. The story follows crews of b-boys, b-girls and hip hop artists in each of these struggling cultures who have found a voice of empowerment, resistance and community strength in the world of hip-hop.
Hip-hop music, and the acrobatic breakdancing culture that arose in tandem with it, may have started on the streets of the Bronx, but its reach is now decidedly worldwide. Shake the Dust chronicles the influence of breakdancing, exploring how it strikes a globally resonant chord.
With a propulsive soundtrack featuring international hip-hop samples, music from both emerging emcees and established superstars like Nas, Common and Talib Kweli, as well as breakdancing moves committed to film, Shake the Dust is a tribute to the uplifting power of music and movement. By highlighting the stories and moves of talented breakdance crews in the poorest urban neighborhoods of Colombia, Yemen, Uganda and Cambodia, Sjöberg weaves together the stories of rappers, DJs, and b-boys across three continents, revealing how breakdancing today acts as a positive force for social change.
Shake the Dust was produced by David Jacobson and Loose Luggage Media in association with Dave Stewart Entertainment, Wild Hair Media and Continental Media.
For more information, visit shakethedust.org.
For the exclusive download, visit vimeo.com/ondemand/shakethedust.
