Hip-Hop Education Center Launches 50 for 50 Film Series with Biz Markie Doc to Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

NEW YORK, NY, USA, August 23, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC) is celebrating Hip-Hop's historic 50th anniversary through the powerful lens of cinema as it kicks off its 50 for 50 Film Series on August 31st, partnering with ImageNation’s Soul Train Tribute, InJoy Enterprises, Biz Markie’s Just A Friend Foundation, Mass Appeal and Showtime to host a free outdoor screening of “All Up In The Biz '' at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. Preceding the screening will be special performances from the legendary group The Last Poets, celebrating their 55th anniversary, and The Hip-Hop Symphony. The event will include guest DJ’s, The Legendary DJ Hollywood and DJ NoHandz, a Hip-Hop fashion show spanning the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s, and special proclamations to honor the Just A Friend Foundation and Biz Markie Day. The event will also include beatboxing workshops and a back-to-school drive, spearheaded by the Just A Friend Foundation.

With its 50 for 50 Film Series, HHEC is partnering with filmmakers, non-profit organizations, cultural and educational institutions and festivals to screen 50 films from around the world to celebrate 50 years of Hip-Hop. This series will also commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Hip-Hop Odyssey (H2O) International Film Festival.

The brainchild of Martha Diaz, The H2O International Film Festival was the first and largest festival of its kind. Together with the support of filmmakers, industry professionals, activists, and educators, H2O was a pioneer platform in showcasing and celebrating the culture, history and artistry of Hip-Hop through filmmaking while serving to elevate the global understanding of Hip-Hop's profound impact in media and on society as a catalyst for change, social justice, unity and artistic expression.

"Our 20th-anniversary celebration is not just a milestone for H2O but also a grand homage to the pioneers and visionaries of Hip-Hop who laid the groundwork for a cultural movement," said Martha Diaz, the Festival Founder.

As a part of its commitment to catalyzing inclusivity and equity, HHEC will also organize insightful panel discussions, workshops, and interactive technology sessions with renowned artists and industry partners, providing a unique opportunity for attendees to engage directly with industry leaders.

HHEC will continue to work with its longtime partners Schomburg Center and Third World Newsreel (TWN) to support filmmakers through archival preservation and educational distribution. The H2O Collection, the largest Hip-Hop film archive, is preserved at the historic Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, housed within its Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, where it can be accessed for research and reference purposes. Beyond diverse locales throughout the United States, the collection includes works from across six continents, including countries such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Curacao, Japan, Palestine, and South Africa. Additionally, the collection includes flyers, posters, programs and magazines.

H2ONewsreel, the first distribution label dedicated to offering the educational market the best in Hip-Hop Media, Education and Culture, was established in partnership with Third World Newsreel in 2008. To date, H2ONewsreel has distributed a diverse global selection of 42 Hip-Hop films to the educational market. Titles include “Favela Rising” directed by Jeff Zimbalist, “Nas: Time Is Illmatic” directed by One9 and “All The Ladies Say” directed by Rokafella.

For more information, please visit www.hiphopeducationcenter.org

About Hip-Hop Education Center:
The mission of the Hip-Hop Education Center is to catalyze social change and equity through transnational research, curated curricula, collaborative programming, career and leadership development, and an archive of Hip-Hop education and culture.

About Schomburg Center:
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, one of The New York Public Library’s renowned research libraries, is a world-leading cultural institution devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.
https://www.nypl.org/locations/schomburg

About Third World Newsreel:
Third World Newsreel (TWN) is an alternative media arts organization that fosters the creation, appreciation, preservation and dissemination of independent film and video by and about people of color and social justice issues. It supports innovative work of diverse forms and genres made by artists who are intimately connected to their subjects through common bonds of ethnic/cultural heritage, class position, gender, sexual orientation and political identification. TWN promotes the self-representation of traditionally marginalized groups as well as the negotiated representation of those groups by artists who work in solidarity with them.
https://www.twn.org

Mona Ibrahim
Hip-Hop Education Center
[email protected]
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