Rapping with TPFF

’Rapping’ up TPFF 2011 with Hip Hop Stars

The fourth annual Toronto Palestine Film Festival ends with a special night that begins with a screening and ends with an event to remember. 

The Canadian premiere of documentary Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation, delves into the idea of teaching resistance through the arts. The movie features prominent hip hop artists, including Shadia Mansour and Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose who will both be in attendance. Shadia and Mazzi will then perform at TPFF’s closing night party, which is co-hosted by the renowned hip hop community festival Manifesto.

What: TPFF Closing Night Movie: Hip Hop is Bigger than the Occupation
When: Friday October 7, 2011 7:00 pm
Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. W.)
Tickets: $10/$7 Online or at the Lightbox Box Office

Nana Dankwa’s film documents a 10-day musical journey through Palestine with acclaimed hip hop artists from the US and UK who are there to teach resistance through the arts. Staying in the heart of Balata Refugee Camp at the Yafa Cultural Center in Nablus, the group witnesses and experiences the day-to-day struggles of Palestinian life, and are the ones left inspired by the Palestinian youth they meet. Accompanying the filmmaker are acclaimed hip hop artists including: M1 of Dead Prez, Lowkey, Shadia Mansour, Marcel Cartier, Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, DJ Vega Benetton, SWYC, University of Hip Hop, Jody McIntyre and many more.

What: TPFF Closing Night Party ft. Shadia Mansour; Mazzi - S.O.U.L Purpose; Yaseen ? iVoice; and DJ Leila P.
When: Friday October 7, 2011 9:00 pm (doors)
Where: The Pilot (22 Cumberland St.)
Copresented with Manifesto Festival of Community and Culture.
Tickets: $10 at the door

TPFF will close its fourth festival with a party to celebrate another successful year, recognize our dedicated volunteers and showcase internationally acclaimed musical talents.

Shadia Mansour - “the First Lady of Arabic Hip Hop” represents her homeland and her people to the fullest wherever she performs. Shadia is a British born Palestinian MC renown for her natural ability to switch between rapping and singing Arabic Phrases of loss, longing, struggle and life. She is a great motivator for the youth she works with in Palestine and elsewhere, as well as the many international artists she has toured with in the US, Europe and the Middle.

Mazzi - S.O.U.L Purpose - Mazzi is a part of the hip hop group, S.O.U.L. (Sense Of Understanding Life’s Purpose). He has been performing since 1995, and has performed with artists such as Eminem, G-Unit, Black Eyed Peas, Big Pun, RUN DMC, Ghostface, D12, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Faith Evans, Nina Skye, Erykah Badu and many more! In addition, Mazzi uses his musical talents and album proceeds to support many charities and social activism initiatives.

Yaseen - i-Voice - i-Voice consists of two Palestinian rappers: Yaseen and Mohammad Turk aka T.N.T. from Burj Al Barajneh refugee camp, Lebanon - only 91 km north of their unreachable homeland. i-Voice perform their very own genre: Trap (Tarab Rap), which integrates Tarab (classical Arabic music) into Hip Hop through instrumentation and choice of beats, creating an original output that naturally reflects the combination of i-Voices surrounding culture and their modern frustration.

DJ Leila P Leila P. is the co-organizer and DJ of Gayfinity Fridays, a monthly queer dance party at Naco Gallery.

Other Highlights throughout the week:
-- The TPFF Art Show features artists whose works are inspired by Palestine. Audiences can enjoy the Art Show at the AGO before and after the screenings at the theatre.
-- Director Konrad Aderer will be in attendance at his film Enemy Alien on Tuesday at 9:00pm at the AGO. The film draws parallels to the director’s family experience with the Japanese internment in WW2 and the post-9/11 roundup of Muslim men in America.
-- May Shigenobu featured in the film Children of the Revolution will be in attendance on Wednesday 9:00pm at the AGO. The film is features Shigenobu’s mother, who was a leader of the Japanese Red Army in the 1970s and worked with the PLO in refugee camps in Lebanon.