Blank City (2010) DVD

Before HD there was Super 8; before Independent film there was Underground Cinema and in the late 1970's and 80's, downtown Manhattan was the epicentre of a new kind of explosive, raw and confrontational filmmaking that bore witness to the rising East Village art and No Wave music scenes and the birth of hip hop.

Filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch, Beth B, Lizzie Borden and Amos Poe captured New York's gritty vibrance with dissonant tales and deadpan humour. BLANK CITY tells their story and succeeds in capturing the glorious and grungy creative energy of another age, illustrated by extraordinary footage of their early work and the derelict landscapes of the Lower East Side.

Interviews with Jim Jarmusch, John Waters, Steve Buscemi, Debbie Harry, Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore and Lydia Lunch explore how a group of young visionaries pooled resources to create a DIY film movement that had a major influence on independent film today.