LYNN — It was a celebration of hip-hop, radio, and indie music at the Vault Theater this weekend for the first annual Lynn Film Festival.
During the three-day weekend, community members enjoyed screenings of locally produced films and engaged in discussions about the rich history of music of the metro north.
Lynn Music Foundation’s Executive Director, Edwin Cabrera, said the initiative to bring the festival to Lynn was brought about by the organization’s mission to uplift local musicians and the idea that the city has become a hub for culture and arts.
“We wanted to make it something for everybody,” Cabrera said.
Films, which all are produced by independent filmmakers, were chosen to be screened at the festival based on their representation of the festival’s theme — music communities.
Throughout the weekend, audiences saw “WBCN and The American Revolution” directed by Bill Lichtenstein and “The Road to Ruane”directed by Scott Evans and Michael Gill, as well as three other film.
Cabrera said Billy Ruane was the person who influenced the Middle East venue in Cambridge to bring live music performances to its stages, as before it was a belly dancing club. The documentary was made recently amplifying the late Ruane’s influence on the Boston Music scene.
He added the documentary on WCBN, the rock radio station, emphasizes the role media plays in creating a music community.
“So we’re featuring both those films because of what they show, as far as the importance of media, but also the importance of promoters like Billy Ruane,” he said.
Cabrera pre-screened his own production during the festival as well, “Lynn Hip Hop.”
He said the documentary is not finalized and because it’s a documentary about the scene in Lynn, he was looking forward to hearing the audience members’ feedback and what they think he can add.
Along with Cabrera’s film, day one also explored “Wortown Rising” directed by Kaz Supernova. The documentary chronicles the first hip-hop movement in Worcester, known as Wortown, from its local roots as well as its Bronx influences.
“Boston music gets a lot of representation and gets a lot of shares,” he said. “But we’re hoping with the stories of Lynn and Worcester that we get to examine other music communities in Massachusetts.”
On day three, the Festival moved to the Lynn auditorium for the screening of “We Want The Airwaves: The WFNX Story.”
Cabrera said the Lynn Music Foundation’s studio on 25 Exchange St. is where WFNX used to broadcast from.
“It’s really cool, because all of their collages on the wall, and a lot of remnants of the FX years still exist within that building,” he said.
In addition to the film screening, the attendees also had the opportunity to walk through a photo gallery organized by Julie Kramer featuring photography from WFNX studios.
Carbrera said in the upcoming festival year, he hopes the festival will be able to explore other genres of music.
