15th Annual Fist Up Film Festival —Songs from the Hole

Get ready to be moved, inspired and engaged! Join us for the 15th Annual Fist Up Film Festival for a world of thought-provoking cinema, carefully curated. 

We’re thrilled to announce our collaboration with Fist Up Film Festival for October 2024! Presenting contemporary films that leave a lasting impact, inspire meaningful discussions, promote awareness, and encourage empathy.

This film festival uniquely bridges the gap between global and local communities, weaving together shared experiences from diverse backgrounds. These curated films amplify the voices of historically marginalized communities, honoring their stories and lived experiences. We invite you to be a part of this meaningful evening through our screenings and engaging Q&A sessions!

Admission is donation-based, with a suggested $15 contribution. Join us in celebrating the power of film and storytelling! You can also sign up to volunteer here and come for free!

SECOND NIGHT: Songs From The Hole with Q&A from filmmakers

At 15, he took a life. Three days later, his brother’s life was taken. A documentary visual album, “Songs from the Hole” follows James “JJ’88” Jacobs through a musical opus of Hip-Hop and Soul, inspired by his innermost struggles as both a person who has committed and experienced violent harm, as he serves a double-life prison sentence. The film interweaves the collective storytelling of its non-fiction participants with imagined representations of memories, dreams and spiritual dialogues set to its protagonist/co-creator’s original music.

Director: Contessa Gayles; Executive Producer: Jenny Raskin, Lauren Haber, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Meadow Fund, Dream Hampton; Producer: Contessa Gayles, richie reseda, David Felix Sutcliffe; Screenwriter: James “JJ’88” Jacobs, Contessa Gayles; Cinematographer: Michelle Kwong, Contessa Gayles; Editor: Contessa Gayles, Rafe Scobey-Thal, Princess A. Hairston; Production Designer: richie reseda, Contessa Gayles; Sound Designer: For analog-ny audio; Supervising Sound Editor/Re-recording Mixer: Keith Hodne, Co-Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer: Eric Di Stefano, Sound FX Editor: Eli Akselrod; Music: Music Written and Performed by James “JJ’88” Jacobs; Music Produced by richie reseda, Tairiq Bright and Garfield Bright III for TwiinTowers Productions, Dylan Wiggins, James “JJ’88” Jacobs; Original Score by richie reseda, Tairiq Bright, Garfield Bright III, James “JJ’88” Jacobs; Principal Cast: James “JJ’88” Jacobs, Myles Lassiter, Devonte Hoy, Jovon Times, Africa Turner, Ernest Walker, Ryleigh Legget , Kellie Evans; Additional Credits: Co-producer: James “JJ’88” Jacobs, Co-Executive Producers: Kelsey Koenig, Robina Riccitiello, Lauren & John Driscoll, Jennifer Pelling.