Heavy in the Game

Oakland, CA - Heavy In The Game, written and directed by Goldie the Poet is a docu/film about the lure of the drug life in East Oakland, California and how Marvin Holliday (the main character) is redeemed from the clutches of its deadly grasp. Although the action takes place in the ghettos of East Oakland it is likened to the stories of fast money, loose women and crack addicts being played out in every major city of America. The life of a hustler is one of seemingly glamour, but this film paints no picture of glory, it puts the drug life in its proper perspective by illustrating its cost in human suffering.

As a prelude to the main feature and presented in traditional documentary style, is a vivid blend of images, commentary and personal testimonies as to how, why and what impact the proliferation of drugs, particularly crack cocaine has had on the African American Community. Crack addicts recount very candidly the horrors of being hooked on a mind controlling substance and what it has cost them personally. Community leaders lament over the dissipation of progress made as a result of the 1960's civil rights movement and suggest that the introduction of crack cocaine into the black community may have been government sponsored. This collage of conversations fades to black as the main feature proceeds.

Shot on digital video, the feature capitalizes on its cinema verité style to document an up-close, observation of the protagonist's life as it begins to unravel. The movie plays out as a moral statement regarding the daily dilemmas faced by many young African American men in the inner city, and the lure of the fast buck.

Goldie's poetic flow is also featured on the film's soundtrack, a seventeen-cut collection that showcases the urban sounds of acts such as, Scrillyonairz, Silk E, JT The Bigga Figga (who also appears in the movie), City Slick Hustlers, The Delinquents, Certified Ryders and Myron Glasper.The street-heavy beats and the stark raps mirror the film's gritty tone, punctuating the tension and creating a heated aural backdrop for this gripping slice of "life in da 'hood."

Heavy In The Game screens on July 29, 2003 at 9pm at the Parkway Theater located at 1834 Park Blvd. Oakland,CA