Local Kid, Club Progress and The Cube present

Positive Force: More Than a Witness

The renowned Washington DC punk activist collective, Positive Force, emerged from the creative and politically-charged ferment of the city's 'Revolution Summer' in 1985 - and a dynamic local music scene sparked by Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Rites of Spring - to become one of the most influential and long-lasting exponents of punk politics.

This acclaimed feature-length documentary by Robin Bell skilfully mixes rare archival footage (including electrifying live performances from Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, Nation of Ulysses and more) with new interviews of key Positive Force activists including co-founder Mark Andersen (co-author of Dance of Days) and Jenny Toomey (Simple Machines, Tsunami) as well as supporters such as Ian MacKaye, Jello Biafra, Dave Grohl, Ted Leo, Riot Grrrl co-founders Allison Wolfe and Kathleen Hanna, and many more. Covering a span of 30 years, More Than a Witness documents the collective's Reagan-era origins, the creation of its communal house, FBI harassment, and the rise of a vibrant underground that burst into the mainstream amid controversy over both the means and the ends of the movement.

Through it all, Positive Force has persisted, remaining deeply rooted in their hometown, reaching out to those in need and building bridges between diverse communities, while regularly bringing punk protest to the front doors of the powers-that-be, and in the best punk fashion, has applied creative DIY tactics and radical critiques to issues of homelessness, hunger, racism, corporate globalization, sexism, homophobia, war, gentrification, and animal/earth liberation, while struggling to constructively address conflicting dynamics and visions within the group itself.

Director and video artist Robin Bell will be joining us in person to talk about the film, growing up in DC and his own commitment to social change through the dissemination of information via video.

Plus, Club Progress / Fruit of Ulysses DJs will be spinning circumstance appropriate records in the bar - hot chocolate city yea!

All proceeds from tonight's screening will be donated to We Are Family, a senior outreach network based in Washington DC with close ties to Positive Force.

Tickets available at Bristol Ticket Shop and in person at Here Shop

www.morethanawitness.com
www.positiveforcedc.org
www.wearefamilydc.org
www.localkid.co.uk