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Poster for Slam (1998) 4K Restoration
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Slam (1998) 4K Restoration

Opens on July 26

Director: Marc Levin Run Time: 100 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1998

Starring: Beau Sia, Bonz Malone, Lawrence Wilson, Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn

Country: United States
Language: English

About the film:

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and the Caméra d’Or at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Raymond Joshua is a young Black performance poet living in Washington, D.C. who is arrested and imprisoned for a petty marijuana charge. Danger lurks around every corner, but nothing can stop him from establishing his identity, strength, and voice. In jail, Raymond meets a prison gang leader and a writing teacher who inspire him to use the power of creative expression to fight for his freedom and avoid becoming another victim of the racist criminal justice system. Featuring sublime poetry and heart-wrenching realism, Slam is a testament to the importance and impact of artistic expression. 

a landmark film that defies easy categorization…This emotionally powerful and technically innovative film deserves to be seen on the big screen”

—Emanuel Levy, Variety

This new digital restoration of Slam (1998) was made in collaboration between the Sundance Institute, the Academy Film Archive, and the UCLA Film & Television archive and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

About the filmmaker:

Marc Levin is an award winning independent filmmaker dedicated to telling powerful, real stories in a unique, authentic style. He has won four Emmys, a Peabody Award, the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He has directed over a dozen acclaimed documentaries for HBO, including Class Divide (2015), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC in 2015. Recently, Levin directed Stockton on My Mind (2020), a documentary following Mayor Michael Tubbs’ bold initiatives to provide opportunities for his city’s youth, and I Promise (2021), which chronicles the first year of the innovative Akron public school created by LeBron James and his foundation. Both films were selected for World Premieres at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and I Promise (2021) was honored by the African American Film Critics Association as the 2020 Best Short Form Series. Slam (1998) was Levin’s narrative feature debut.

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MAJOR SUPPORT
Ohio Arts Council
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The Columbus Foundation
Campus Partners
National Endowment for the Arts
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WOSU Public Media

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