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Grateful for Hip-Hop

Inspired by the Hip-Hop artists who fueled his passion for words, handwritten artist Renda Writer creates, "The Largest Hip-Hop Tribute Mural” in the world.

As a successful career artist who has traveled the globe creating murals, meeting new collectors, and being featured on the news, Renda Writer has always attributed his success as an artist to having an attitude of gratitude.

  • Luis Eduardo Villamizar
    Director
    Larry Moon Boots, Bikelantis, Prime Time
  • Luis Eduardo Villamizar
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 8 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 25, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    3,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Urban Film Festival
    Miami
    September 3, 2023
    World Premiere
    Winner - Best Documentary Short film
  • Arts Accelerator Film Festival
    Ft Lauderdale
    United States
    September 23, 2023
    Honorable Mention
  • Independent International Shorts
    Tempe, Arizona
    United States
    December 22, 2023
    Official Selection
  • Reel Lauderdale 2024
    Fort Lauderdale
    United States
    January 28, 2024
    Ft. Lauderdale Premiere
  • Hip-Hop Cinefest
    Rome
    Italy
    April 29, 2024
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Luis Eduardo Villamizar

Luis loves to focus on eccentric people and what makes them tick. His eclectic taste in music and love of bicycles often play essential roles in his films. In 2018 he produced his first feature documentary, BIKELANTIS. It follows his filmmaker friend Manny Cervantes, on an autobiographical sketch of his love of people and communities centered on bike-friendliness around the United States.

Since then, his films have been selected by several international film festivals. His recent award-winning short documentary, LARRY MOON BOOTS, was shot entirely on an iPhone.

His latest short documentary, "Grateful for Hip-Hop, Part One - A Renda Writer Story" premiered during the 50 year Anniversary of Hip-Hop in August 2023 and won Best Documentary Short Film at the Urban Film Festival in Miami.

Based in Hollywood, Florida he's currently writing and developing several film projects with his production company, LEV-MEDIA.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I've been a Renda Writer art collector since 2019 and was extremely excited to find out about the hip-hop mural he was planning in my hometown of Hackensack, New Jersey. I had a cousin who was huge into the genre and produced a few artists with his label, Slept On Entertainment. Something was definitely drawing my soul to this project and I NEEDED to be there. I reached out to Renda and he loved the idea of filming the process for a short documentary.

As a successful career artist who has traveled the globe creating murals, meeting new collectors, and being featured on the news, Renda Writer has always attributed his success as an artist to having an attitude of gratitude.

He says, "Gratitude brings abundance!! The more you focus on being Grateful, the more you will have to be Grateful for. Simple as that."

In 2018 Renda Writer released the 1st Edition of his “Handwritten Art Tribute to Hip-Hop” and in 2020 he released the 2nd Edition. Both of these were done on canvas and he made prints of both.

Over the past five years, Renda Writer has made it his mission to gift prints of both editions of this tribute piece to the rap artists that are mentioned in them. He's traveled the country doing this, and he's now given Free prints to over 170 rap artists, including some very notable names like: Queen Latifah, Puff Daddy, Ice T, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Redman.

Now…. the 3rd Edition, is a large-scale mural created on May 13, 2023 at "The Graffiti Temple" in Hackensack, New Jersey at the start of “Hip-Hop Appreciation Week,".

2023 marks the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop. A party in the Bronx on August 11th, 1973 is widely considered to be the birthplace of hip-hop. The art form has since touched every corner of our world and evolved into one of the most significant cultural forces today.

(Part Two will be another documentary showing behind-the scenes, more of the artistic process and featuring well-known hip-hop artists as Renda creates a similar mural on the west coast in California.)