PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, EDITOR
"The drama is always full-flame! So is the comedy!"
LA Weekly - Film Pick of the Week
"The genre’s answer to Monterey Pop!"
The New York Times
Starring Saul Williams (in his first film) and Taylor Mali, SlamNation is a fascinating ride through the early days of the slam poetry phenomenon, following New York City’s novice team on its journey to join a gathering of spoken word artists from across the country to compete in the National Poetry Slam.
Here, SlamNation discovers not only the high energy of spectacularly talented literary performers, but a good old fashioned tale of heroes and villains amidst the dramatic tension of battle poetic.
Theatrically distributed in 30 cities, SlamNation led to coverage of slam poetry by CNN, 60 Minutes, and inspired many follow-up films as well as the HBO series Def Poetry Jam. Slam poetry’s cultural influence continues even today, for example in the Moth’s StorySLAM, and slam-influenced spoken word artists performing in Hamilton, America’s Got Talent, the Super Bowl and even a Presidential Inauguration.
Watch SlamNation to see where it all started!