War of Words: Battle Rap in the UK
Synopsis
The film reveals the history and evolution of this unique subculture of hip hop: charting from its origins in playgrounds and parks, through to nightclubs and competitions. From its beginnings as a battle of quick-thinking freestyle wit, through to its current incarnation as a form of well-rehearsed poetry and theatre.
Directors Craig Tuohy and Tom Worth followed and filmed major players involved with the UK battle rapping scene over a period of two years- revealing behind the scenes footage, clips from some of the best battles, and interviews with the top battle rappers from all over the UK including poet Mark Grist, whose battle rap with Blizzard has had over 4.5 million hits on YouTube.
The film is an entertaining expose on how the UK has taken an American art form and made it uniquely British, and so creating one of the most exciting youth subcultures around today.
Details
- Year
- 2015
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 93 mins
- Format
- digital video
- Director
-
Craig Tuohy, Tom Worth
- Producer
- Craig Tuohy, Tom Worth, Charlotte Arden
- Executive Producer
- Lee Kemp, Peter Dunphy, Vivian Giourousis, Alistair Monty
- Editor
- Barry Moen
- Screenwriter
- Craig Tuohy
- Composer
- Si Begg
- Principal cast
- Ice-T, Doc Brown, Raekwon, Scroobius Pip
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Gizmo Films
13 Queensborough MewsLondon
W2 3SG
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
The Things We Don't Say
Director: Ornella Mutoni
Year: 2024
A group of young adults born during or just after the 1994 genocide against Rwanda's Tutsi people gather to find the courage to break a powerful taboo. Rwanda is one of the few nations in the world providing specialist counselling for children conceived through rape, who number 10,000 across the country. Here, course leader Emilienne, a mother, therapist and genocide survivor, helps the group to imagine a future free from family secrets and societal stigma. In a circle of supportive peers, they tell their individual stories and face their struggles together, in the hope their participation will advocate for others facing similar trauma. Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2024 NY African Film Festival 2025
NOVA '78
Director: Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias
Year: 2025
NOVA '78 resurrects the legendary Nova Convention, the groundbreaking three-day gathering held in New York in 1978 to celebrate William S. Burroughs and the artistic revolution he inspired. Built from newly restored, previously unseen 16mm footage shot by Howard Brookner, the film captures extraordinary performances and intimate backstage moments featuring Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Laurie Anderson, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, John Cage, Merce Cunningham and many other defining voices of the era. More than a concert film or historical record, NOVA '78 is an immersive time capsule of a fleeting moment when literature, music, art and radical ideas collided to reshape contemporary culture.
When Cumbia is On
Director: Maria Paz Gonzales
Year: 2024
When Cumbia is On follows three South American musicians and traces the sound of cumbia music through the streets of Edinburgh, asking whether this rhythm is what lets them build a sense of belonging in a foreign land.