Big Fun in the Big Town (1986)

Together with Fanclub Centrum, every two months we invite a special Amsterdammer to curate a film night. This time the honour goes to Edson Sabajo, co-founder of Patta and hip-hop lover from the very beginning. We will watch the classic hip-hop documentary ‘Big Fun in the Big Town’ with him, after which footage will also be shown of the sequel that was recently made: A Hiphop Minute.

Big Fun in the Big Town is a 1986 Dutch music documentary directed by Bram van Splunteren and commissioned by the VPRO. Filmed over eight days in New York, the documentary is about the American hip-hop scene. The documentary follows a number of important pioneers of the hip-hop movement, including Grandmaster Flash, Russel Simmons, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J and Roxanne Shante. Big Fun in the Big Town was a major influence on the popularity of hip-hop in the Netherlands and an important source of inspiration for many Dutch-speaking rappers and hip-hoppers.

Meanwhile, a sequel has been made to this documentary called ‘A Hiphop Minute’, which premieres in the Netherlands this same week and can be seen at our Cinema on Wednesday 12 February. In this documentary, a Belgian director goes back to New York and hip-hop artists after 35 years. He looks back on their lives and what it looks like today.

Fanclub Centrum is an online platform that highlights all the good things the centre of Amsterdam has to offer. For locals, by locals.

Melkweg often hosts different types of programmes at the same time, such as concerts, club nights and films. Please note that there may occasionally be some noise pollution from other programmes during the screening.