Threat (film)

White stretcher Jim ( Carlos Puga ), and black hip hop lover Fred ( Keith Middleton ), became friends living on the eastern outskirts of New York - both with the hope that their newfound brotherhood would bring solidarity to their disparate communities. Instead, their union causes violent racial unrest that spreads on the streets of the city with tragic consequences.

The film was shot by Kings Mob Production, a team of young filmmakers at the time. Director Matt Pizzolo was 21 years old when he was writing the script, and 22 years old at the start of the shoot. Pizzolo met his future movie business partner, Katie Nisa, at the NYU School of Art.

Kings Mob Production made a DIY (Do It Yourself) film, which contrasts sharply with other, more polished, independent films from the mid-90s. DIY style is less focused on aesthetics and more on realism. Unlike most of the films - the “Do it yourself” era to follow, the film “Threat” was shot on 16 mm film.

The film was originally released as underground video cassettes and distributed throughout the United States and Europe in non-traditional places such as music stores, hip hop clubs, skateparks and music festivals. Some of the most notable non-traditional screenings were during the Sundance Film Festival at the Doc Martens shoe store. After the festival in the Coachella Valley , HIQI Media Corporation signed a contract for movie screenings in cinemas. Shortly thereafter, Pizzolo co- founded HALO 8 Entertainment , which released the movie The Threat on DVD .

In October 2006, the film The Threat won the Grand Prix for the best feature film at the festival in Lausanne, Switzerland . In April 2007, the film won the First Feature Film - Special Mention Award at the Independent Film Festival in Rome, Italy .

Shortly after the success of the film, two collections of soundtracks from it were released.