LYNN — The second annual Lynn Film Festival celebrated the intersection of film, music, and community last week.
The festival, organized by Lynn Music Foundation, took place at The Neal Rantoul Vault Theatre from Oct. 1-5.
Seven films were screened this year, followed by discussions with the audience. The selections centered around music documentaries of different genres, including hip-hop, punk, funk, and international.
Day 1 kicked off with a youth showcase, presenting films from Raw Art Works and FC Academy students who narrated community stories.
On Day 2, there was a screening of the 2020 film “The Process” directed by Lynn producer Jake Fay, which chronicles the journey of three aspiring Massachusetts-based rappers as they navigate the local music scene.
Edwin Cabrera, the co-founder and executive director of The Lynn Music Foundation, also showed a preview of “The Lynn Hip-Hop Documentary,” which tells the story of Lynn’s cultural development through the lens of hip-hop artists.
Day 3 continued with “Punk in Africa,” which chronicles the political punk movement in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
“The Godfathers Of Hardcore” was later played, which explores the impact of New York City hardcore band Agnostic Front.
The 2014 documentary “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll” from director John Pirozzi was shown on Day 4. The film depicts the Khmer Rouge regime and Cambodian genocide on the local rock music scene in the ’60s and ’70s.
Meanwhile, the film “New Wave” documented filmmaker Elizabeth Ai as she captured how the New Wave genre affected Vietnamese-American teens in the 1980s.
Day 5 then showed a film that chronicles the history of funk music, aptly titled “WE WANT THE FUNK!”
The festival wrapped up with a screening of “We Want the Airwaves: A WFNX Story,” which celebrates Lynn’s alternative rock radio station that ran from 1983 to 2012.
“It was a great reception, great turn out. A lot of love, support, and appreciation. It was great for artists in the community,” Cabrera said.
He added, “We were able to get more visibility in terms of what is happening in the downtown area with the film festival. Our goal is to celebrate the community through film and bring in new people.”
