FREE OUTDOOR SCREENING – BAM BAM: The Sister Nancy Story + BUBBLING BABY

The Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, Marcus Garvey Park   

•  18 Mount Morris Park West, or use the Fifth Avenue and 124th Street entrance                                                                                            
•  Friday, July 31st, 2026 at 7PM / Sunset
• MADE YOU LOOK: H20 (HIP-HOP ODYSSEY)
  Co-presented with Hip-Hop Education Center     
• BAM BAM: THE SISTER NANCY STORY Alison Duke, June 2024, 98 min
• Producers: Alison Duke, Ngardy Conteh George                                   
• Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” has been part of our collective consciousness for over 40 years, but what do we really know about her?This fun, inspirational documentary showcases Sister Nancy's resilience through dynamic tour performances, interviews, archival footage, and reenactments. In an industry notorious for silencing female artists, Sister Nancy is hell-bent on empowering others with her music and knowledge to make a difference—proving that good music can't be stopped!           

PRECEDED BY:

BUBBLING BABY

Sharine Rijsenburg, 2025, 19 mins.

A short documentary by Sharine Rijsenburg exploring the rich history and cultural significance of bubbling music, a genre that originated in the 1980s within Caribbean-Dutch communities, particularly among Surinamese and Antillean youth in Rotterdam, The Hague, and Amsterdam. DJ Moortje, a Dutch-Caribbean DJ of Curaçaoan descent, is often credited as the pioneer of bubbling. In 1986, he accidentally played a dancehall record at an accelerated tempo in a Rotterdam club. Instead of stopping the track, the crowd responded enthusiastically, dancing in a new, quick, jerking style that became associated with bubbling.

The high-energy sound was soon embraced by other DJs, who developed the style, blending dancehall, reggae, and Surinamese and Antillean rhythms. Making the sound even more unique, DJs started remixing Jamaican dancehall with electronic beats. More than just a music genre, bubbling evolved into a dance movement, resembling dancehall but faster and more expressive. Above all, bubbling became a way for Surinamese- and Caribbean-Dutch youth in the Netherlands to express their cultural identity in a new social environment. Bubbling Baby, which premiered at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) last February, delves into the genre's roots and its evolution into a vibrant club music and dance movement.     

Bubbling music is one of the most spirited manifestations of Caribbean-Dutch cultural heritage. The propulsive and highly danceable music symbolises freedom, power and ownership of the diaspora. This vibrant documentary celebrates bubbling’s storied history, tracing the historic and cultural roots of the club music, while exploring the contemporary scene that keeps pushing the envelope. By explicitly forefronting the female voices of bubbling, filmmaker Sharine Rijsenburg composes a joyful and feminist symphony of a musical scene that perfectly embodies an emancipated way of living.