Directors Statement for "Broken Song" by Claire Dix
Costello told me that the first time he really listened to a hip hop track was when he was about 15. He said that he lay back in his bed, took in every beat and every word and suddenly it felt like he had left the room.
At the time I was trying to find the right angle to take with this documentary about G.I. and Costello, two Dublin based hip hop artists who have rejected the stylized MTV version of hip hop and instead use their music to inspire the younger generation to foster their creativity instead of their anger.
I wanted to make a film that would compliment the boys’ work. Rather than shoot a straight forward portrait, I felt the film needed another element and kept coming back to the trippy image that Costello drew of his 15 year self floating out his bedroom window. It started a thread of ideas that seemed to fit with G.I. and Costello’s own message. The idea that music and art can transport you out of your environment, that it can become a light in the darkness stayed with me and ultimately became the theme of the film.
The film’s poetic tone and style is in response to the boys’ own ideals about their work. They speak about the transformative power of the creative act without inhibition. They see their music as a way to reach the next generation and save them from going down the wrong path in life. They are brave enough to put their beliefs into action, to spread their message to kids in the area and weave it into every lyric. I hope this film can be a force as powerful and positive as that.