Shake the Dust

Directed by Adam Sjöberg
Film Movement
2014
85 Minutes
USA
English
Documentary, Black Cinema
play trailer

Despite its genesis in the Bronx, Hip-Hop has become a universal language spoken across all cultures. Shake The Dust celebrates this global unity by chronicling three different break dance crews in the slums of Uganda, Yemen and Cambodia where Hip-Hop serves as a saving grace from the drugs, depression and poverty grasping youth. Includes music from Executive Producer Nas and Oscar-winning artist Common.

Cast

  • DJ Fresh
  • Don Popo
  • Karim Lokwa
  • KK
  • Highest Rating
    " "Shake the Dust" is an... engaging ode to joy, the kind that feels special because it's hard-earned and communal, and it displaces adversity, however briefly."
    Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
  • Highest Rating
    "Shake the Dust is at times stunning to look at. Sjöberg has entered these worlds and imbued the dance sequences with as much dynamism and vitality as a Step Up film (in the best sense possible)"
    Mallory Andrews, Movie Mezzanine
  • Highest Rating
    "Produced by rapper Nas, this lovingly shot documentary is a compelling and poignant look at the power of breaking."
    Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
  • Highest Rating
    "Hip-hop culture has infiltrated much of the world, but Adam Sjoberg's documentary takes you to places where you wouldn't necessarily expect it to flourish. Documenting the breakdancing and hip-hop scenes in such disparate locales as Uganda, Cambodia, Yemen and Colombia, Shake the Dust provides ample evidence of it being a universal language. ...the abundant energy and acrobatic prowess displayed by the street kids is as inspiring as it is infectious."
    The Hollywood Reporter
  • Highest Rating
    "The film's ultimate beauty lies beyond the individual victories of the faces on the screen, and instead in its success in highlighting the shared cultural experiences of these disparate youth through hip-hop."
    Perry Simpson, Under the Radar

Awards & Recognition

Official Selection
Seattle Int'l. FIlm Festival
Official Selection
San Francisco Dance Film Festival

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