MIFF- Fresh Dressed and Dope

Tonight's Melbourne International Film Festival films had a bit of a hip-hop theme. The first one was the documentary Fresh Dressed, which covers street style in NYC in the 1970s, its emergence throughout the US in the 1980s and 1990s (which coincided with the rise of hip-hop and rap music), the boom and bust of urban fashion labels, and more global expansion into style trends today. The film features interviews with musicians, fashion designers and label owners, and people who were around during those periods. It's a great chronicle and historical record of the importance of looking fresh, and the use of clothing and accessories to demonstrate status and aspiration for some in inner city communities.

The second movie I saw was the coming-of-age comedy Dope. Set in Inglewood, CA it focuses on three high school friends who are geeks and outcasts in their high school and community. They are obsessed with 1990s hip-hop and dress accordingly (after seeing Fresh Dressed their fashion was pretty on point). Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his friends end up going to a birthday party for local drug dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky) and after a shoot out at the club, Malcolm inadvertently ends up with a gun and large amount of ecstasy in his backpack. The movie follows their adventures as they try to figure out a way to get rid of the drugs without getting killed by the people who are after them. It's a well written and acted film with some quite funny moments throughout as the geeks manage to emerge on top at the end of the day.