DDirector Alfred Gragg hails from the underground film, music, and art scene of LA. While at USC’s School of Cinema-TV, his first co-written screenplay won the Paramount Pictures screenwriting fellowship and was optioned by the studio. Upon graduating, he directed videos featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Moby and Santigold. He also won Avid’s filmmaker award for his short “Jesus Christ Superbad”. In 1999, Al was tapped to write “Juneteenth”, a screenplay for Signature Entertainment/MDP Worldwide. In his next doc, Alfred chronicled “Manifest Hope DC”, the grassroots art movement started by Shepard Fairey (Obama “Hope” artist). The short received funds from Move-On.org. plus briefly streamed on Amazon. It features Rosario Dawson, Heather Graham, Moby, and Jeffrey Wright. For this, Gragg won “Best Director: Short Documentary” at NY Int’l Independent Film Festival.

Gragg's feature doc “Jamaica House” is based on the legendary LA nightclub of the same name. It chroni- cles the ground-breaking reggae/hip-hop scene of the ‘90s. It features Tupac Shakur, The Roots, Run- Dmc, Nwa, Ice Cube, Wu-Tang, Ice-T, Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., and Gangstarr. It racked up multiple awards: “Best Documentary” Long Beach Indie Film Festival, "Runner-Up" NY Hip-Hop Film Festival, "Best Rap-Culture” Doc @ Germany’s Golden Sneakers Festival.

Gragg's latest documentary,“Occupy Black,” chronicles the evolution of black protest, from the civil- rights struggle to the current movement for black lives. For this, Al was awarded a start-up grant from the LA Department of Cultural Affairs and the Center for Cultural Innovation.

LIVE CONCERT/DOC REEL
wu-tang clan, santigold, the roots, janelle monae, karen o - yeah yeah yeahs, the red hot chili peppers, de la soul, moby, shepard fairey (manifest hope dc documentary) ; run-dmc, nwa, nas, ice cube, notorious b.i.g., tupac shakur, gang starr (jamaica house documentary)
“re-imagine public art” grant award recipient