"Have you forgotten where we are!?" Good Deed Ent. has released an official trailer for Summertime, one of the Opening Night films at last year's Sundance Film Festival. This ensemble piece features poetry and performances by 25 young Angelenos, in stories that intersect and intertwine as they make their way around the city. Born of the director's mind-blowing interaction with a workshop where performers from across the City of Angels recited fearlessly personal texts, the project was structured so that their voices could shine as well as coalesce in the context of a larger, unified, and gloriously moving narrative experiment — part urban musical and part sociological art. It is a showcase of young spoken word artists directed by Blindspotting's Carlos López Estrada, who carefully brings together their voices in one vibrant feature film. Starring Tyris Winter, Marquesha Babers, Maia Mayor, Austin Antoine, Bryce Banks, Amaya Blankenship, Bene't Benton, Gordon Ip,...
- 2/1/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
It’s a bold move to follow up a festival favorite indie film from a couple of years back with a Los Angeles-set series of vignettes punctuated by poetry. Such is the case with director Carlos López Estrada’s sophomore effort Summertime. The young filmmaker turned heads with the provocative Blindspotting at Sundance 2018. He aims at something similar here, though with a decidedly different spin.
Set in Los Angeles, the film takes place over one long summer day as twenty-five separate young people quite literally wax poetic about their hopes, dreams, fears, and passions. A bit cringe-inducing at the start, all involved find their stride quickly enough. In one particular scene–a poetry battle set in a couple’s therapy session–Summertime gets lighter and a bit more engaging.
Similarly, the film charts the rise of a hip-hop duo called Anewbyss (Bryce Banks) and Rah (Austin Antoine) to some breezy comic effect.
Set in Los Angeles, the film takes place over one long summer day as twenty-five separate young people quite literally wax poetic about their hopes, dreams, fears, and passions. A bit cringe-inducing at the start, all involved find their stride quickly enough. In one particular scene–a poetry battle set in a couple’s therapy session–Summertime gets lighter and a bit more engaging.
Similarly, the film charts the rise of a hip-hop duo called Anewbyss (Bryce Banks) and Rah (Austin Antoine) to some breezy comic effect.
- 1/24/2020
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
“Use your words.” I remember one of my sheroes saying that to a stammering 4-year-old decades ago. Here was a woman who’d dedicated her life to preschool education, whom I assisted for several summers, trying to get through to a tongue-tied little boy. The more he sputtered, the more upset he got, unable to express what was frustrating him. That’s not unusual with young children, but his teacher knew just how to handle the situation, calmly telling the child to channel his emotions into language, so the rest of us might understand.
That simple life lesson — that one can’t properly address a problem until it’s been put into words — resurfaced for me watching “Summertime,” an upbeat, feature-length poetry slam that just might be the most inspirational movie to hit the indie circuit this year. A lo-fi, high-ingenuity collaborative endeavor between “Blindspotting” director Carlos Lopéz Estrada and...
That simple life lesson — that one can’t properly address a problem until it’s been put into words — resurfaced for me watching “Summertime,” an upbeat, feature-length poetry slam that just might be the most inspirational movie to hit the indie circuit this year. A lo-fi, high-ingenuity collaborative endeavor between “Blindspotting” director Carlos Lopéz Estrada and...
- 1/24/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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