Slam

Directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Marc Levin, Slam is a gritty, inspiring protrait of urban poverty and the redemptive power of art. Set in a war-zon housing project known as Dodge City and in the infamous Washington, DC city jail, Slam tells the story of Ray Joshua, a talented young poet and rapper who is busted on petty drug charges and sucked into the black hole of the criminal justice system. In jail, Ray meets Lauren, a volunteer teaching a writing class for the prisoners. She encourages Ray to use his gift to five voice to the anguish of a generation of young men who have been thrown away.

And this book is more than just a screenplay. It also contains the poetry featured in the film, as well as behind-the-scenes filmmakers' and actors' diaries telling the story of the making of Slam in a two-week guerilla shoot inside the walls of the D.C. Jail and on the killing streets of the Anacostia housing projects in southeast Washington, D.C.

   

   

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A 1998 Sundance Film Festival winner, Slam—set in a war-zone housing project known as Dodge City and in the infamous Washington, D.C., city jail—presents a gritty, inspiring portrait of urban poverty and the redemptive power of art. The book includes the full screenplay, poetry from the film, behind-the-scenes diaries, and more.

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