The New York City duo, Holy Ghost! has released a 17-minute, four-part documentary called Crime Cutz, which had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary was directed by Ben Fries and Alden Nusser, and spotlights various subjects from NYC’s past, present and future.
The project initiated with Fries and Nusser trying to long music video for Holy Ghost!’s 2016 Crime Cutz EP, but the project expanded into a short film. The project lasted one year in the making, and it features New Yorkers: Stuart Hodes, a 93-year-old a WWII veteran who turned into a professional dance and choreographer, as well as his dancer/actress/singer wife Elizabeth; Hustle dance revivalists Lori Brizzi, who is the host of NYC’s monthly Millennium Hustle dance party, and Louis Orlando; and aspiring singer and performer; and NYC street performer Brad Pawly, who is also known as Super Bad Brad, and has once earned a standing ovation at Showtime at the Apollo.
Each subject shared their personal stories in unique ways, alongside Holy Ghost!’s Crime Cutz songs.
“We all grew up together in NYC so we share many of the same cultural touchstones,” Fries said in a press release. “Holy Ghost!’s music is influenced by New York’s past and our music videos have always played with the idea of merging NYC’s past and present, but with Crime Cutz the film, we wanted to expand the scope. We wanted to shine a spotlight on some overlooked subjects but also really hone in on the individuals and their personalities within the scenes at large.”
By Aimée Santillán