Last year SIFF screened Welcome to Doe Bay, a picturesque documentary about a small music festival on Orcas Island that has had an outsized impact on the Northwest music scene. Filmed during the festival’s three-day span on a somewhat remote island, the parameters for that film were well-set. The Otherside, this year’s local-music-zeitgeist doc premiering in SIFF’s “Face the Music” program, was created with no such parameters. Directed by Daniel Torok and produced by J.R. Celski and Vinny Dom, it’s an inside look at the Seattle hip-hop scene, following its subject wherever it may go.
Too often this approach results in a meandering tale, but not this time. Since filming began a few years ago, the scene has exploded. At least it has for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the artists responsible for the song from which the doc’s title is derived. And, yes, the documentary ultimately trains its focus on the rapper responsible for the quadruple-platinum hit “Thrift Shop.” But thankfully it sets up its main act with plenty of support.
Read the rest of the article here.
As some of you have already heard, we’ve been selected to premiere The Otherside at SIFF! This is great news for us and we couldn’t think of a better place to debut our film than to the city that helped bring it to life.
We are scheduled to screen on Friday, May 31st and Sunday, June 2nd. If you’re interested in attending, the SIFF box office opens tomorrow morning. Be sure to get tickets early, as we are unsure of their capacity.
Thanks,
- the MADNW crew
EDIT: Tickets are now available here!
Throwback from the Seattle Children’s Hospital even circa 2010. @wizdom80 @vinnydom @therealuncledan
Check out this dope medley of Seattle’s up and comers. It’s a great example of the different styles you’ll hear from the 206.
Cast in order of appearance:
Sam Lachow (@SamLachow)
Gift Uh Gab (@Gift_Uh_Gab)
Nacho Picasso (@NachoPicasso)
Jarv Dee (@JarvDee)
La (@theguyLa)
Raz Simone (@RazSimone)
Grynch (@Grynch206)
A few years ago I was at the Vera Project watching my friends RA Scion and Sol perform on Halloween during a show that was hosted by Olympic speed skater J.R. Celski. I had never met an Olympian before, let alone an Olympic medalist (he won bronze in 2010), so I struck up a conversation with Celski between sets.
I don’t remember a lot about our conversation but I do remember being surprised when he told me he was working on a documentary about the development of the local hip-hop scene. He said part of the film’s focus is about how the scene has been able to become its own unique beast consisting of multiple styles and sounds, making it unlike anything else happening in other music scenes around the country.
Read the rest of the article here.
Thanks to the rise of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Seattle hip-hop is getting a lot of international attention right now (and not all of it positive). So the timing couldn’t be better to release the trailer for upcoming documentary The Otherside, a Kickstarter project about the equally DIY nature of our local rap scene, with appearances by…well, everyone: Mack and Lewis, Blue Scholars, Fresh Espresso, Massive Monkees, Mad Rad, RA Scion, Grynch, The Physics. The list goes on.
Read the rest of the article here.
Aside from Sir Mix-a-Lot’s national anthem alluded to the natural beauty of big buttocks, Seattle hasn’t had a major influence on the hip-hop sphere. Following the musical lineage of grunge rock and Jimi Hendrix, the city’s scene is filled with talented artists. But in terms of hip-hop on a major scale, no artist has truly capitalized off their skill set until of late, with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ success, accompanied by the explosion of DIY digital music movement that’s settling as the norm for all indie acts. The film The Otherside attempts to document the scene that’s bubbling from the Pacific Northwest, featuring Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Blue Scholars, J. Pinder, and much more. No release date has been announced yet, but the teaser above triggers much excitement.
Read the whole article here.
It’s finally here! The official trailer for THE OTHERSIDE documentary. Watch it in HD!
Enjoy it and help us spread the word!
The poster for The Otherside documentary.
Shout out to our Kickstarter supporters, 4Culture, and everyone who has followed us along the way. Thank you for your continued support.
It’s been a long journey thus far and a humbling experience. We started filming The Otherside documentary about 3 years ago. When we first kicked off the project, there were folks who questioned whether a team, led by an Olympic speed skater, could produce a feature-length film worth watching.
And we don’t blame them.
It was an ambitious project; an idea that had been talked about and tossed around by local filmmakers who, like us, saw the potential of the hidden gem in the northwest. The initial skepticism we received was expected. We had nothing to show for and little credibility. In hip hop culture, you’ve got to pay your dues before you earn your respect (regardless of how G.O.O.D. your music is). This couldn’t have been truer for us and we knew we had to work for it.
After 3 years of networking, weaseling our way into shows, filming, and editing, we finally have something that we’re proud to show the world. In that timespan, our executive producer JR Celski won 2 Olympic bronze medals, two of our producers earned college degrees, and Seattle hip hop went from a local phenomenon to a worldwide threat. To put things into perspective, earlier this month, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ hit single “Thrift Shop” went platinum on iTunes and is currently the #1 song on the Billboard charts.
Our goal is to premiere The Otherside at festivals this year. We have an official trailer in the works and will be dropping some fresh original content and updates regularly, so be sure to keep an eye out for us on the interwebs. Links are posted below.
-MADNW
