After a complete sell out of their recent Sleaford Mods Invisible Britain film screening, Twisted Reel, the Northern Quarter’s irregular film night, are to show ‘Positive Force: More than a Witness (30 Years of Punk Politics in Action)’. As well as the screening, there’ll be a post film Q&A with the film maker Robin Bell.
“When Operation Desert Storm was announced in 1991, punk groups took their protest within shouting distance of the Oval Office. Now a new documentary remembers the collective that gave George HW Bush nightmares” (The Guardian)
Punk activist collective Positive Force DC emerged in 1985, rising from the creative, politically-charged ferment of DC punk’s Revolution Summer. Born in a dynamic local scene sparked by Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Rites of Spring, a handful of young activists also drew inspiration from UK anarcho-punks Crass and the original “Positive Force” band Seven Seconds to become one of the most long-lasting and influential exponents of punk politics.
This feature-length film by Robin Bell skilfully mixes rare archival footage (including electrifying live performances from Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, Nation of Ulysses, Anti-Flag, and more) with new interviews of key PF activists as well as supporters such as Ian MacKaye, Jello Biafra, Dave Grohl, Ted Leo, Riot Grrrl co-founders Allison Wolfe and Kathleen Hanna, Penny Rimbaud (Crass) and many more.
Covering a span of 30 years, More Than a Witness documents PF’s Reagan-era origins, the creation of its communal house, FBI harassment, and the rise of a vibrant underground that burst into the mainstream amid controversy over both the means and the ends of the movement.
Tickets – £7 Doors 7.30pm, Film starts at 8.00pm. DJ pre/post screening. Free Popcorn.
Tickets www.wegottickets.com/event/335076
Positive Force: More than a Witness Official | Facebook
