Celebrating five years of Hip-Hop Cinema, Education, Art and Culture, the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival (H2OIFF) was officially launch on Thursday, May 31st at the ImaginAsian Theatre.

From May 31 – June 17, 2007 New York City has been the home of the largest Hip-Hop film festival in the world, screening over 100 media pieces, including 9 premier panels. This weekend of the festival, three panels include; Under the Influence: Hip-Hop’s Cosa Nuestra; The Revolution Is Being Digitized: The Future of Distribution ; & It’s All About M.E.E. (Media, Expression, and Education) Youth Media Panel.

In addition to the panels, this weekend will hold  special screening of Turn Off Channel Zero, this Saturday, June 9, at 1pm. Professor Griff, Davey D, Abiodun of the Last Poets, King Yoda from Universal Zulu Nation, and many more featured in the film will be attending and participating in a short discussion following the screening.*

All panels are FREE, appropriate for all ages, and open to the community.

Friday, June 8, 2007 – 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Under the Influence: Hip-Hop’s Cosa Nuestra

Sponsored by the Universal Federation for the Preservation of Hip-Hop Culture/Universal Zulu Nation

Afrika Bambaataa started Hip-Hop culture organizing through a peace truce amongst gangs in the Bronx.  Bambaataa's original vision of Peace, Unity, Love, and Having Fun is being overshadowed by the glamorization of gangsterism in the media.  Tupac Shakur (2Pac), Biggie, Big L, Proof, Jam Master Jay, and Mr. Devious have all been victims of violence in our communities.  From Scarface to New Jack City to American Gangster, this panel will examine the history and influence of organized crime and street life on Hip-Hop culture, from the music to the images to the psychology.

Erik Parker (Moderator)

Henry Chalfant (Director, From Mambo to Hip-Hop)

AZie Faison, Jr. (Author, Game Over: The Rise and Redemption of a Forme r Gangster/Writer, Paid in Full)

Lance Feurtado (Producer, King of Kings/Co-Founder, King of Kings Foundation)

Delson Holloway (VP, Don Diva Magazine)

Jamal Joseph (Author, Director, Producer, Poet, Activist, Educator)

K’wan (Author, Street Dreams, Road Dogz, Hoodlum, Gangsta, Hood Rat)

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Saturday, June 9, 2007 – 3:00pm - 4:30pm

The Revolution Is Being Digitized: The Future of Distribution

Sponsored by SoonR

With new developments happening in technology everyday, we are now, more than ever, experiencing the growing possibilities of creating our own Hip-Hop content and establishing new forms of distribution.  Find out the latest developments in the world of mobile phones, broadband channels, online news forums, and wireless communication.

Martha Diaz & Rolando Brown (The Hip-Hop Association) (Moderators),

Grouchy Greg

Lathan Hodge(Chuck D Mobile)

Quincy D. Jones III (QD3 Entertainment)

Felicia Palmer

Prodigy (The Real Hip-Hop Network)

Yves Salomon (Artisan News Service & BET)

Randy Ward (88 Hip-Hop)

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Sunday June 10, 2007 – 3:00pm - 4:30pm

It’s All About M.E.E. (Media, Expression, and Education) Youth Media Panel

Sponsored by Listen Up! and Urban Word NYC

Today’s youth are using media more than ever to express themselves.  Find out how these panelists are supporting that work and cultivating the new generation.  What do our youth have to say?

Sharese Bullock (Listen Up!) (Moderator)

Gisely Colon (HarlemLIVE)

Hezues R (Guns 4 Cameras, a division of Eye On It Corporation)

Chris “kazi” Rolle (The Hip-Hop Project)

Clarivel Ruiz (DCTV)

Lisa Russell (Urban Word NYC)

For more info on the 5th Annual H2O International Film Festival, including information films, additional panels, events and tickets sales, please visit us online at http://www.h2oiff.org/.

About the 5th Annual H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival: As the largest Hip-Hop film festival in the world, the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival provides a platform for filmmakers to showcase and define the variety of images that depict Hip-Hop culture and its communities. This year’s theme “THE WORLD IS YOURS!” highlights the Hip-Hop community of the early/mid 90’s; a time when youth in the community began demanding money, power, and respect.

About the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] Media Initiative: Social Awareness Through Media! H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] is the media initiative of the Hip-Hop Association. With programming like the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival, the Freshest Youth Program, the ODYSSEY Awards, and Defuse News, its mission is to support the use of Hip-Hop culture as a tool for social awareness and youth empowerment. For more information on films, please visit http://www.h2oiff.org .