The 4th Quarter
Time Out Melbourner 5 Star Review
DARK CITY BENEATH THE BEAT TO OPEN MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2020
See Full Show Schedule and Links Below
8:30pm WATCH FILM https://mdfilmfest.com/
9:50pm TT The Artist DIRECTOR Q&A ZOOM LIVE (ticket holders only)
10:30pm AFTER PARTY https://www.twitch.tv/mdfilmfest
PURCHASE TICKETS AT https://mdfilmfest.com/
Variety Reviews Dark City Beneath Hot Docs International Premiere
“We dance in the streets because we don’t have anywhere to go now.” There is much that sticks and stutters and loops in the mind after watching “Dark City Beneath the Beat,” a bright, ebullient and simultaneously seething musical documentary dedicated to the Baltimore club scene, but that’s the line that lingers longest. An apparent expression of joy, chased by an admission of crushing, unequal reality, it’s said matter-of-factly by a young black choreographer trying to keep art alive in the face of diminished creative space. It distils the push-pull impulses of TT The Artist’s unique film, which mixes and remixes fluorescently staged performance and candid sidewalk-level vérité to offer an abstract history of a city’s rich musical subculture, a busy snapshot of the black community in which it flourishes, and a consciousness-raising statement of resistance against political and economic oppressors. All that in 65 minutes, and the beat never lets up once.
TT The Artist's Dark City Beneath the Beat is a visually compelling treat of the heartbeat and expression in Baltimore through its provocative and affectionate citizens.
TT The Artist stars, edits and directs this documentary/music video with a strong visual and captivating prowess that utterly engulfs the audience in a range of tone – via expression of vivid colour, unique sound and a poignant heart. Gone and stripped are the genre conventions of a documentary and in its place of generic assembly, TT The Artist explores heavy and enlightening conversation through all manners of artistic voice.
Injected are a personalised style and aesthetic of music and culture that personifies the unique individualism of the documentary's setting and subject. Tackling issues of gun control, Black Lives Matter and government reform in distinctive and unique ways of expressive performance: ranging from dance to spoken word to song. Each moment holds its weight and power with profound consequence. Specifically, the documentary's thematic importance of the darker side of Baltimore and its underbelly of economic distress. Yet the execution of this are as equally as compelling and engaging as the exploration of the brighter ends of society, which fights against its stereotypical and often controversial tag.
Every second of TT The Artist’s Dark City Beneath the Beat examines and highlights the richness and character of Baltimore in an efficacious and intense aesthetic that is both individual and enjoyable to behold, with distinctive characteristics and emotions involved.
Review courtesy of Clapper
IndieWire Review Dark City Beneath The Beat
‘Dark City Beneath the Beat’ Review: TT the Artist Remixes Baltimore Into 65-Minute Club Banger
While the 2020 SXSW Film Festival has been canceled due to the coronavirus, IndieWire is covering select titles from this year’s edition.
In 1927, filmmaker Walter Ruttman rendered Berlin as a cinematic symphony; in 2020, TT the Artist uses her camera to remix Baltimore into a 65-minute banger. A full-body ode to her hometown and the incredible people who keep it bouncing in spite of everything else, “Dark City Beneath the Beat” isn’t just a blood-stained but ecstatically hopeful love letter to Bmore, it’s also the most danceable movie this side of “Girl Walk//All Day.”
The Actor Despairs
With full acknowledgment of the big picture implications of a pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives, cratered global economies and closed international borders, Coping With COVID-19 Crisis is a forum for those in the entertainment space grappling with myriad consequences of seeing a great industry screech to a halt. The hope is for an exchange of ideas and experiences, and suggestions on how businesses and individuals can best ride out a crisis that doesn’t look like it will abate any time soon.
An up and coming Baltimore-based music artist whose directorial debut documentary about the rhythms, dance and challenges facing her city was set to premiere at South By Southwest, TT The Artist shares the disappointment of seeing her dream temporarily dashed when Austin abruptly ordered the festival canceled.
Radio: All Of It with Alison Stewart
Baltimore club musician, producer, and director TT The Artist joins to talk about her musical documentary, "Dark City Beneath the Beat," as part of our series, South By South of Houston, showcasing the films that would have been screened at SXSW.
Baltimore Finds its Groove in 'Dark City Beneath the Beat' Doc Trailer
EATON WORKSHOPS
Director TT The Artist joined by Dark City main cast members Mighty Mark and TSU Dance Crew performs at Eaton Workshops in Washington, DC.
MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2018 X PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Director TT The Artist joins a panel of filmmakers and discusses making films about Baltimore with panelist including: Theo Anthony (Baltimore Filmmaker, Rat Film), Marilyn Ness (Director, CHARM CITY), Matthew Porterfield (Director, SOLLERS POINT), Alexandra Shiva (Director, THIS IS HOME) at the Maryland Film Festival 2018.
Dark City Beneath The Beat Director TT The Artist and Theo Anthony Directed of Rat Film
photos by Stan Jaworski
BALTIMORE MAGAZINE X DARK CITY BENEATH THE BEAT OFFICIAL TRAILER PREMIERE
Baltimore Club queen TT The Artist has released the trailer for her much-anticipated documentary, Dark City: Beneath the Beat. The film tells the story of Baltimore through its hometown music genre, locally known as Bmore Club, and features some of the city's notable movers-and-shakers, like DDm, Eze Jackson, Rufus Roundtree, and the TSU Dance Crew to name a few. We talked with TT about her initiation to club music, the film’s importance, and her dreams of giving it a big-bang Baltimore premiere in spring 2019.
Click link to read full interview http://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2018/4/20/tt-the-artist-debuts-trailer-for-dark-city-beneath-the-beat
LIGHTS , CAMERA , ACTION!
Welcome to the official Dark City Beneath The Beat blog. Stay up to date and get exclusive behind the scenes here and watch the movie magic unfold!
