Quarterly 2 · 2008 - German Films

Love, Peace & Beatbox
Hiss, chirp, crackle, creak, squeak, gurgle, drum or simply
plop – there isn’t a single sound that an accomplished
human beatboxer can’t imitate with their mouth. After
rapping, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti, beatboxing or
mouth-drumming is widely regarded as the fifth element
of hip hop. As in many other big cities, a rich and varied
music scene has emerged in Berlin in recent years, one
that includes one of Germany’s most popular bands,
4xsamples, who are the current team battle vice-world
champions. Founded by DJ Mesia, BeeLow and Maxim,
who was murdered in 2003, the beatbox championship
has now been exported to countries as far away as
Australia. As an art form that originated on the street and
still feels most at home there, hip hop thrives on a mix ture
of improvisation and virtuosity – and this is exactly what
beatboxing is all about. In this way, beatboxing takes hip
hop back to its roots.
In 2006, documentarist Volker Meyer-Dabisch began film -
ing the protagonists of Berlin’s beatbox community – at
performances, in studios and during rehearsals. Love,
Peace & Beatbox portrays the genre’s key proponents; in
his film the filmmaker connects to their world of sounds,
rhythms and noises, listens to their art, and opens a window
on the world of beatbox.
“You had to be there, during the final credits of this beatbox
World Sales (please contact)
Karl Handke Filmproduktion
Wiener Strasse 20 · 10999 Berlin/Germany
mobile +49-1 77-7 88 59 11
email: meyer-dabisch@gmx.de · www.karl-handke-filmproduktion.de
documentary instructions were given and hundreds of viewers in
the audience got involved in the sound. There’s hardly ever been
that much rhythm in the cinema. No, the Berlinale didn’t rock,
it scratched, sampled and mixed.” (Tagesspiegel)
“During the whole film the audience claps, whistles and cheers.
In my three years with The Young Journalists I have never seen
anything like this, such an enthusiastic audience.” (Die jungen
Journalisten)
Genre Music, Society Category Documentary Cinema Year of
Production 2008 Director Volker Meyer-Dabisch Directors
of Photography Andreas Gockel, Hendrik Lier, Ralf Netzer,
Peter Sebera Editor Volker Meyer-Dabisch Producer Volker
Meyer-Dabisch Production Company Karl Handke Film -
produktion/Berlin Principal Cast Mando, Wetlipz, Chlorophil,
Pirate MC, BeeLow, DJ Mesia, Zeero, Ro Beat, Steff La Chef
Length 70 min Format DigiBeta, color, 16:9 Letterbox
Original Version German Subtitled Version English Sound
Tech nology Stereo Festival Screenings Berlin 2008
(Generation 14+/Perspectives German Cinema)
Volker Meyer-Dabisch was born in 1962 in Kamen. After train -
ing as an actor, he had various theater engagements and appear ed
in television and film productions, including Rudolf Thome’s Frau
faehrt, Mann schlaeft. His films as a director include: Zwirbels
Traum (2003), Kohleladen Oezdemir (2003), and Love,
Peace & Beatbox (2008).
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Scene from “Peace, Love & Beatbox” (photo © Karl Handke Filmproduktion)