Experiencing Interruptions?

Unspittable

Amplify, an Indigenous hiphoppa and member of the Edmonton based hip hop group Unspittable reflects over the three years the group has been together in the hour before a gig. Full of intimate performances, Unspittable is an improvised ethno-fiction film that brings the audience into the reality of Indigenous hip hop in urban Canada following the group from its formation to its maturity.

  • Michael B MacDonald
    Director
  • Andrew Cardinal
    Key Cast
    "Amplify"
  • Charles Woodman
    Key Cast
    "Repression "
  • Colton Krevenchuk
    Key Cast
    "Niko Krev"
  • Anna Kuelken
    Audio recordist
  • Eddie MacIntosh
    Audio recordist
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    32 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 30, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Druk International film festival
    Paro
    Bhutan
    October 25, 2019
    Audience Choice
  • Festival International du film ethnographique du Quebec
    Montreal
    Canada
    May 8, 2020
    official selection
  • The Indie Fest Film Awards
    San Diego
    United States
    May 5, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Venice Shorts
    Venice
    United States
    Best International Documentary
  • Hip Hop Film Fest
    New York
    United States
    August 6, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Montreal Independant Film Festival
    Montreal
    Canada
    September 5, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Chicago Indie Film Awards
    Chicago
    United States
    October 1, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Commffest Global Community Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 30, 2020
    Official Selection
  • London Rocks Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    October 30, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Los Angeles Rocks Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    May 29, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Tokyo International Film Festival
    Tokyo
    Japan
    December 2, 2020
    Official Selection
  • New Wave Short Film Festival
    Munich
    Germany
    February 3, 2021
    Finalist
  • Roma Short Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    January 30, 2021
    Finalist
  • Seoul International Film Festival
    Seoul
    Korea, Republic of
    January 17, 2021
    Finalist
  • California Music Video & Film Awards
    San Francisco
    United States
    March 31, 2021
    Finalist
Director Biography - Michael B MacDonald

Michael B. MacDonald is a cine-ethnomusicologist and associate professor of music in the MacEwan University Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  His research areas include screen production research, ethnographic film theory, and ciné-ethnomusicology. Michael is the founder and programme chair of the MusCan Film Series, held annually at the Canadian University Music Society annual conference, and is an active member of the International Council of Traditional Music Study Group on Audiovisual Ethnomusicology, an NGO that reports to UNESCO.

He has published seven films and three books. He is currently working on a three year long cine-ethnomusicological project in Porto, Portugal, and two book-length projects called “Cinéma Musicalité: resonating with the music-image films of Les Blank” and "CineWorlding: Posthumanism and Cine-ethnomusicology" (Bloomsbury Press 2021).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

During a hip hop conference I organized in Edmonton, Canada guest speakers from Oakland and New York said that the scene in Canada looks like it did in the early 80s in the US. I wanted to test this impression and I set out to make a film with young artists I thought were the most talented of their generation. We began working together to construct a film that would follow their development over almost three years. We had high hopes for what would happen over that time. I don't think any of us were prepared for how difficult those three years would be. I use the moments before Unspittable takes the stage for Amplify (Andrew Cardinal) to reflect back over the previous three years. Each of the members of Unspittable shines brightly against the cold and sometimes dark background of Edmonton, Alberta.