Director Interview with Charles Officer
October 15, 2009
Charles Officer is the award-winning director of Nurse.Fighter.Boy as well as short films, and music documentaries. He has worked with K’naan, DJ Green Velvet and Bedouin Soundclash and was our top choice to bring the story Toronto’s underground hip-hop scene to life.
LL: Give us your “”elevator ride””" pitch: the concept for your film in three sentences or less.
CO: D-Sisive takes us back to the weekly underground hip-hop parties that started his career. It was called Planet Mars. In the late 90′s, the venue was called Lion’s Bar, but has now changed to Neu+tral.
LL: What surprising thing did you learn about D-Sisive on this shoot?
CO: D-Sisive is more than an MC. He’s a gifted and insightful storyteller.
LL: What was the most challenging thing about shooting this location?
CO: It was more of a story challenge, dealing with a venue that no longer exists as it used to. I couldn’t rely on locating video or audio archive. Determining how to use the space as it is today, to present a vibe from the past was challenging. We we’re lucky that the venue still feels underground.
LL: Do you have a hip-hop battle memory of your own?
CO: Me vs. my sister, Christine… Big Daddy Kane vs. Kool Moe Dee! I lost the battle, and it wasn’t Big Daddy’s fault.
