Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Thursday, May 26 and to VOD this Friday, May 27: LOS PUNKS: WE ARE ALL WE HAVE
Angela Boatwright’s portrait of a music subculture made its debut at Slamdance earlier this year. Other events have included IFF Boston, San Francisco Doc, San Antonio Cine Festival, East End, and Topanga.
Displaying an anarchic edge that is both fitting for its subject matter and ultimately to its detriment, Boatwright offers a down and dirty behind the scenes look at a small but appreciated punk music scene that’s taken root among young Latino/a fans in South Central and East Los Angeles. Embracing a DIY code, these fans throw together loud backyard parties, spreading the word through social media, and enjoy themselves until the inevitable noise complaints shut things down. The filmmaker finds some intriguing characters, chief among them Nacho, a party organizer and member of the band Corrupted Youth. The problem is that she doesn’t stop with him, or even two or three other subjects who demonstrate some potential – instead Boatwright keeps introducing more and more one-offs who simply detract from the proceedings and fail to make much of an impression. While it’s understandable to some extent if the goal is to present the scope of the Latino punk scene as a whole, given the film’s very specific Los Angeles setting and distinct core audiences – punk music fans, Latinos – it would have been to the project’s benefit to offer fewer more fleshed out figures like Nacho to help the unconverted viewer have a better chance to connect with the subject matter.
what (not) to doc 