11° FESTIVAL INTERNAZIONALE CINEMA GIOVANI
Feature Film Competition 1993
FEAR OF A BLACK HAT
by Rusty Cundieff
Country: USA
Year: 1992
Duration: 88'
Fear of a Black Hat is a pseudodocumentary musical biography, made in a satirical and ironic manner, that follows one year in the life of a rap group, part of an artistic community that tends to take itself too seriously. The band in question is called N. W H., or Niggaz with Hats, and has three members, Ice Cold (played by Rusty Cundieff), Tasty Taste, and Tone Def. A reporter, Nina Blackburn, follows the group on their tour through America. There are interviews and live concerts that allow us to get close to the protagonists and to the elements that make up rap.
"The film takes shape behind the scenes of the 'Itchy Dick Tour' and sketches the chronicle of the successes, failures, break up, and reunification of the group, N.W.H. Using irony, I tried to get the audience close to the band, and to its way of seeing racism, violence, misogyny, and, above all, hats. For N.W.H., the hat symbolizes the defense of the race. The biggest problems of the group show up in their relationship with their white managers, their producers, and, more generally, with society itself. Fear of a Black Hat invites you to smile, team, shout, and discover why you always have to wear a hat." (Rusty Cundieff)
Biography
film director
Rusty Cundieff
Rusty Cundieff (Pittsburgh) studied philosophy and acting at Hollywood. He then began to work as an actor on stage, on television, and then in the movies. He had a role in Spike Lee's film School Daze, in the musical Hollywood Shuffle, and on television in the series Benson, Partners in Crime, and Days of Ours Lives. He directed the short film, The Other Class, and wrote several screenplays, including that of House Party II. Fear of a Black Hat is his first feature film.
FILMOGRAFIA
Fear of a Black Hat (1992).
Cast
& Credits
Director and screenplay: Rusty Cundieff.
Director of photography: John Demps.
Art director: Stuart Blatt.
Editor: Karen Horn.
Music: Larry Robinson, John Bautista, Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott.
Sound: Oliver Moss.
Cast and characters: Rusty Cundieff (Ice Cold), Larry B. Scott (TastyT), Mark Christopher Lawrence (ToneDef), Kasi Lemmons (Nina Blackburn).
Director of Production: Wm. Christopher Gorog.
Produzione e vendita all'estero: ITC Entertainment Group, 12711 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604, tel. +18187602110, fax +18185068189.
Director of photography: John Demps.
Art director: Stuart Blatt.
Editor: Karen Horn.
Music: Larry Robinson, John Bautista, Rusty Cundieff, Darin Scott.
Sound: Oliver Moss.
Cast and characters: Rusty Cundieff (Ice Cold), Larry B. Scott (TastyT), Mark Christopher Lawrence (ToneDef), Kasi Lemmons (Nina Blackburn).
Director of Production: Wm. Christopher Gorog.
Produzione e vendita all'estero: ITC Entertainment Group, 12711 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, CA 91604, tel. +18187602110, fax +18185068189.
