Last summer in a cramped, rented garage on the outskirts of Queens, NY something incredible was happening. Nicholas Ragbir, an imaginative tinkerer from Trinidad, was working late into the nights creating something nobody had ever seen: enormously powerful stereo PA systems jerry rigged onto ordinary bmx bikes. It wasn’t long before Nick assembled a small crew of like-minded riders. Traveling together as the Legal Intentionz crew they treat the neighborhood to an outrageous impromptu music and dance party on wheels.
Directors Nicolas Randall and Joe Stevens created a visually groundbreaking documentary, Made In Queens, celebrating the beauty these imaginative young people have brought to their adopted home.
For Randall, Made in Queens, which will premier at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, was a great opportunity for visual storytelling, but also presented a unique challenge. “Anybody can point a camera at a bunch of kids. The trick was to bring it to life with a cinematic vocabulary and inventiveness that really befits the subject matter,” Randall said.
“In this age of obsessive video sharing and social networking nearly every action is designed and packaged for public consumption. Especially with young people,” says director Joe Stevens. “The immediate charm of Nick and his crew is that they’re the exact opposite of all that. There is nothing calculated or self-conscious about who they are. They’re just a group of friends doing something to challenge themselves and have some laughs. It’s a story which would have never come from kids who were born here.”
Visit MadeInQueensFilm.com for more information.
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BLOWOUTS IN BABYLON
Wednesday, June 25th: Celebrate summer with Exalt and help increase awareness, commitment towards, and resources for NYC youth. Minimum $20 donation at door. 7pm-10pm at MoCADA, 80 Hanson Place, Fort Greene.
Thursday, June 26th: Stop by the one year anniversary of Gaby and Angelo’s Coochfrito party and listen to Dante Ross, DJ Smoke, and DJ Iron Lung spin. 10pm at Rewind, 137 Essex Street, Manhattan.
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ON A SIDE NOTE
Check out Mishka’s new collection, A Summer In Abandon, consisting of pieces perfect for the dog days of summer. While the clothes are made for the boys, the lookbook (shot by Ellen Stag) shows how us ladies can rock the gingham separates and graphic tees. Visit MishkaNYC.com to check it out.
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