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28-916: Films screened at the festival include the 2006 documentary Bastards of the Party , director John Singleton 's box office blockbuster " 2 Fast 2 Furious ," the critically acclaimed " The Hurricane " (starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington ), director Kasi Lemmons ' " The Caveman's Valentine " (starring Samuel L. Jackson ), and director Reggie Rock Bythewood's " Dancing In September ." The festival attracts such stars and industry insiders as Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Sidney Poitier , John Singleton , Spike Lee , Cedric The Entertainer , George Tillman , Ice-T , Rev. Run (of Run DMC), Tina Andrews, Reuben Cannon , Anthony Anderson , Blair Underwood , Sanaa Lathan , Rockmond Dunbar , Loretta Devine , Bill Duke , Sheryl Underwood , Vanessa Williams , Clifton Powell and Gina Ravera . HBFF

56-493: A loosely structured association of smaller street gangs, known as "sets", that have a common gang culture. Each set has its own leader and generally operates independently from the others. Most Bloods members are African-American males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds. Members range in age from early teens to mid-20s, but some hold leadership positions into their late twenties and occasionally thirties. There

84-788: A membership of between approximately 15,000 and 20,000 active in 123 cities and in 33 U.S. states, primarily on the West Coast and, to a lesser extent, the Great Lakes region and the Southeast . Gangs including Bloods have been documented in the U.S. military , in both U.S. and overseas bases. Blood sets also operate in the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto . Bloods members identify themselves through various indicators, such as colors, clothing, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, graffiti, language, and hand signs. The Bloods' gang color

112-786: A money-making operation based around the illegal drug trade. Tupac Shakur 's song, "So Many Tears", is played at the end portion of the documentary. Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles , California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips . It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols , including distinctive hand signs. The Bloods comprise various subgroups known as " sets ", among which significant differences exist, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since

140-630: A passage in City of Quartz that reads: "As even The [Los Angeles] Times recognized, the decimation of the Panthers led directly to a recrudescence of gangs in the early 1970s. 'Crippin,' the most extraordinary new gang phenomenon was a bastard offspring of the Panthers' former charisma, filling the void left by the LAPD SWAT teams." The documentary appeared at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and at

168-445: A person has been involved with a particular set. The ranks do not signify leadership or dominance over the set; they merely signify respect for those who have been in the set longer and have survived the longest. Those with a higher rank do not have a position of authority over those of lower rank. Bloods members commonly call themselves CKs (Crip Killer), MOBs (Member of Bloods), dawgs, or ballers (meaning drug dealers). The gang has

196-540: A strong sense of commitment to their set and are extremely dangerous because of their willingness to use violence both to obtain the respect of gang members and to respond to any person who "disrespects" the set. "Associates" are not full members, but identify with the gang and take part in various criminal activities. To the extent that women belong to the gang, they are usually associates and tend to be used by their male counterparts to carry weapons, hold drugs, or prostitute themselves to make money for their set. Recruitment

224-406: A term in jail, Cle Sloan read the book City of Quartz by Mike Davis and found his neighborhood of Athens Park on a map depicting LAPD gang hot spots of 1972. The book's account fueled Sloan to ask questions of how the gangs got started, only to receive speculation and more questions from his fellow gang members. Sloan decided to research the subject himself. The title of the film comes from

252-472: Is for filmmakers and storytellers hoping to sell their idea, story, book or screenplay to Hollywood buyers. Participants get to pitch their story ideas to entertainment industry executives (film directors and producers, acquisitions, development, production and distribution executives), talent agents and greenlighters (people who make decisions on whether or not to "greenlight" a project) who will critique their concept/idea to examine its commercial potential in

280-557: Is meant as an insult to the rival group and its symbols. Bloods members also have a distinctive slang. They greet each other using the word "Blood" and often avoid using words with the letter "C". Bloods use hand signs to communicate with one another. Hand signs may be a singular movement, like the American Sign Language letter "B", or a series of movements using one or both hands for more complex phrases. United Blood Nation (UBN) or East Coast Bloods initiates often receive

308-631: Is no known national leader of the Bloods but individual Blood sets have a hierarchical leadership structure with identifiable levels of membership. These levels of membership indicate status within a gang. A leader, typically an older member with a more extensive criminal background, runs each set. A set leader is not elected but rather asserts himself by developing and managing the gang's criminal enterprises through his reputation for violence and ruthlessness and his charisma. The majority of set members are called "soldiers", who are typically 16 to 22. Soldiers have

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336-432: Is often influenced by a recruit's environment. Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in poor African-American communities. Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection. It also offers immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth who desire the trappings of gang life, such as gold jewelry, cash, and expensive sports clothing. Blood sets have a loose structure of ranks based on how long

364-471: Is red. They like to wear sports clothing, including jackets that show their gang color. The most commonly used Bloods symbols include the number "5", the five-pointed star, and the five-pointed crown. These symbols are meant to show the Bloods' affiliation with the People Nation , a large coalition of affiliates created to protect alliance members in federal and state prison. These symbols may be seen in

392-640: Is selected by audience vote. Facebook Page Bastards of the Party Bastards of the Party is a 2005 American documentary film directed by former Bloods gang-member Cle Sloan and produced by Antoine Fuqua . The film explores the creation of two of Los Angeles 's most notorious gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, from the perspective of the Los Angeles community. The film also denounces gang violence and presents meaningful solutions from former gang members to stop this problem. During

420-696: The Black Panther Party and the Us Organization . Movements based on collective action gave way to individualism inspired by heroes of blaxploitation films like Super Fly . In this atmosphere, Raymond Washington created the concept of a gang of the new generation that went from "the cradle to the grave" and was joined by Stanley "Tookie" Williams in the formation of the Crips. The collapse of domestic industry left black youth with few opportunities to escape from gang activity, which became

448-629: The Latin Kings and Ñetas who were targeting African-American gang members. UBN is a loose confederation of predominantly African-American street gangs. Once released from prison, UBN leaders went back to their New York neighborhoods, where they retained the Bloods name and started recruiting members. UBN has between 7,000 and 15,000 members in the Eastern US. It makes its income through various criminal activities, including distribution of crack cocaine and smuggling drugs into prison. Bloods are

476-489: The 2006 Hollywood Black Film Festival . The television premiere aired on February 6, 2007, on HBO . Over 90 percent of the documentary was shot in 1996. Bastards of the Party explores various influences on California African-American gang culture. The starting point is the crisis of black leadership that marked the end of the Civil Rights Movement , particularly the government-instigated rivalry between

504-475: The Pirus to create a new federation of non-Crips neighborhoods. This alliance became the Bloods. The Pirus are therefore considered the founders of the Bloods. By 1978, there were 15 Blood sets. Crips still outnumbered Bloods 3 to 1. To assert their power, the Bloods became increasingly violent. During the 1980s, Bloods began distributing crack cocaine in Los Angeles. Blood membership soon rose dramatically as did

532-463: The adjunct Infotainment Conference features dozens of informational seminars, panels and workshops covering a wide variety of topics which range from film production, distribution and marketing to pitching, writing for television and film, in addition to specific programs of interest to actors. Each year, more than 100 top film and television executives, filmmakers, producers, directors, writers, agents, attorneys, business managers and actors participate in

560-548: The first "Bloods" gang. Owens subsequently established the West Piru gang. The Bloods was initially formed to provide members protection from the Crips. Many of the non-Crip gangs used to call one another "blood". On March 21, 1972, shortly after a concert featuring Wilson Pickett and Curtis Mayfield , 20 youths belonging to the Crips attacked and robbed Robert Ballou Jr. outside the Hollywood Palladium . Ballou

588-597: The gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States. The Bloods gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Crips in Los Angeles. The rivalry originated in the late 1960s when Raymond Washington and other Crips attacked Sylvester Scott and Benson Owens, two students at Centennial High School in Compton, California . As a result, Scott formed the Piru Street Boys ,

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616-654: The number of states in which they were present. These increases were primarily driven by profits from crack cocaine distribution. The huge profits allowed members to relocate to other cities and states. "Bloods" is a universal term used to refer to West Coast Bloods and United Blood Nation (UBN, also known as the East Coast Bloods). These two groups are traditionally distinct, but both call themselves "Bloods". UBN started in 1993 in Rikers Island 's George Motchan Detention Center (GMDC) to form protection from

644-782: The talk-show style panels, roundtable discussions and workshops. A highlight of the Infotainment Conference is "A Conversation With…" a series of up-close-and-personal candid conversations with some of the industry's hottest movers and shakers. HBFF has been honored to have directors John Singleton ("2 Fast 2 Furious," "Baby Boy," "Shaft," "Boyz N The Hood"), George Tillman ("Soul Food, Barbershop") and St. Clair Bourne ("The Life and Works of Gordon Parks," "John Henrick Clarke: A Great and Mighty Walk") and scribe Tina Andrews ("Why Do Fools Fall in Love?") participate in these enlightening and informative discussions. The HBFF Pitchathon

672-453: The tattoos, jewelry, and clothing gang members wear as well as the gang graffiti with which Bloods mark their territory. Such graffiti can include gang names, nicknames, declaration of loyalty, threats against rival gangs, or descriptions of criminal acts in which the gang has been involved. Bloods graffiti can include rival gang symbols (especially those of the Crips) drawn upside down. This

700-443: The today's film marketplace. The juried HBFF Filmmaker & Storyteller Awards honor the achievements of the most promising black filmmakers and screenwriters. Films that screen during the festival compete for the following jury awards: A separate HBFF Storyteller Competition awards scribes for their excellence in screenwriting . Closing Night is highlighted by the announcement of the crowd-favorite HBFF Audience Choice Award, which

728-509: Was beaten to death after refusing to give up his leather jacket. The sensational media coverage of the crime and the continued assaults by the Crips increased their notoriety. Several non-Crips gangs formed during this period were no match for the Crips and became concerned with the escalating Crip attacks. The Pirus , Black P. Stones , Athens Park Boys and other gangs not aligned with the Crips often clashed with them. On June 5, 1972, three months after Ballou's murder, Fredrick "Lil Country" Garret

756-410: Was founded in 1998 by its executive director Tanya Kersey , in order to enhance the careers of emerging and established black filmmakers through a public exhibition and competition program. The festival's goal is to play an integral role in discovering and launching independent films and filmmakers by bringing them to the attention of the industry, press and public. In addition to the film screenings ,

784-412: Was murdered by a Westside Crip. This marked the first Crips murder against another gang member and motivated non-Crip gangs to align with each other. The Brims struck back on August 4, 1972, by murdering Thomas Ellis, an original Westside Crip. By late 1972, the Pirus held a meeting in their neighborhood to discuss growing Crip pressure and intimidation. Several gangs that felt victimized by the Crips joined

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