B.I.K.E.

DC Premiere

The New York City chapter of Black Label Bicycle Club is a surly but lovable crew of punks, artists and activists. Fighting capitalism, dumpster-diving, sitting drunkenly atop six-foot bicycles with big sticks-these are high-intensity guys (and occasionally gals) that drink hard and playfully joust each other and rival gangs, but still hug and cook each other vegan food.

Co-director Anthony Howard wants desperately to be a member of Black Label. He's been on the periphery for years, and his desire to be initiated coincides with his filmmaker's urge in B.I.K.E.

Shortly after his initial joust, Howard's life begins to collapse. His longtime girlfriend is in rehab and leaves him. Diving into depression, Howard's drunken bike-jousting is no longer the most dangerous element of his self-destruction. A "bro-mance" grows between him and Black Label's star jouster Doyle, as Howard strives to be a part of the Black Label fold while Doyle is moving out of it. Conflicts thrive, and we watch, helplessly rapt, as his self-destruction worsens.

B.I.K.E. is as much a history of the pro-bicycle movement as it is a story of self-destruction and recovery. It provides a window into a hyper-masculine subculture. Everything about B.I.K.E. is cool-the tall bikes, the style, the filmmaking and the subjects-but being cool can be difficult. We empathize with Howard's desire to join the Club, despite all their conflicts. The battle for individuality and acceptance rings strongly in this film.

-Rose Vincelli

DIRECTOR BIOS
Jacob Septimus has directed music videos for Mos Def, Zach de la Rocha, KRS-One, Last Emperor and Master Fuol. He executive produced the gold records Lyricists Lounge Vol. 1 and 2 and directed and produced two seasons of the LYRICIST LOUNGE SHOW, a musical sketch comedy show for MTV. He has produced and directed several of David Blaine's television specials for ABC.

Anthony Howard is an award-winning performance artist and filmmaker. His short, OUI WE, toured worldwide, from the Telluride Film Festival where it won the Audience Award to Les Inattendus, L'Ettrange and The Baltimore Underground Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary. He is currently co-starring in MILK AND HONEY, distributed by Wellspring.

Print Source:
Fredric King, Fountainhead Films
33 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.620.3092
fking@fountainhead.com

PRECEDED BY...ALUMINUM FOWL
James Clauer
USA/FRANCE, 2005, 13 MINUTES

A cinematically beautiful but disturbing portrait of four brothers living on a rural Louisiana chicken farm, with too much time on their hands and too little to do.

Print Source:
James S. Clauer
O Salvation
701 Bowling Ave #7
Nashville, TN 37215
Clauer73@yahoo.com

6/17 at 10:15 PM

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