Louder Than a Bomb

Run Time: 1 hr 40 min
Florida Film Festival Screenings:
April 9 at 12:30pm and April 12 at 9:15pm
Directed by: Greg Jacobs and John Siskel
Dropps: 9/10

When anyone hears about a poetry slam some may not know what you are talking about and just say it is poetry obviously.  Others with a small amount of knowledge may direct you toward Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam videos. According to poets.org slam poetry is actually a “competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience, which serves as judge. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently from the page.”

For many enthusiastic students that love poetry in Chicago “Louder Than A Bomb” (LTAB), held in March, is the event they look forward to. Prior to the competition’s 8th year documentarians followed four students and their teams from different schools on their preparation for the competition. The resulting film, also named Louder than a Bomb, will be shown at the Florida Film Festival next month.

There was an interesting variety of participants chosen to be followed for the documentary, Nate the multi talented student, Lamar the thug, Adam the boy who has a way with words and Nova who is getting over many elements that would knock some one down. The story that the filmmakers tell is that of connection among people that may have never met if it weren’t for the competition as well as getting out some frustrations they have about the world. When you hear the back-stories of some of the participants you feel for them but admire them at the same time. Some of the students’ words are so powerful that tears will well up in the audience’s eyes.

If you are looking for a great film to watch during the Florida Film Festival this is one worth watching. The film will be inspirational to children and adults a like, tug at your heart, you may be holding your breath as if you were in the situation with the people on screen. No wonder it has won awards at many festivals that it has screened in.
-Ashlyn Williams