Sample Differences.

A documentary about creativity and new solutions featuring the Oakland, CA-based Hop Hop Orchestra Experience - Ensemble Mik Nawooj

Change Everything.

We recently had a WORLD PREMIERE screening at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival...and won BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY!

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TRAILER

SYNOPSIS

Method Sampling is the principle used by an Oakland, CA globetrotting orchestra which fuses hip-hop and classical music to magical effect. JooWan Kim, its Korean born composer, believes that any paradigm shifting change only happens by sampling and reframing differences which spark innovation. To test his hypothesis, he meets a disabled choreographer who revolutionized modern dance, a self-taught Black mycologist who wrote the first books on Cordyceps cultivation, and a tiny house builder with a shipbuilding background who looks at houses as inverted boats. In addition, he meets the Italian Critical Theorist, Fabio Vighi, to explore how Method Sampling may allow society to overcome the challenges it faces today.

Featuring:

● JooWan Kim - Artistic Director / Ensemble Mik Nawooj

● Christopher Nicholas - Executive Director / Ensemble Mik Nawooj

● Marc Brew - Artistic Director / Axis Dance

● William Padilla-Brown - Citizen Scientist / MycoSymbiotics

● Abel Zimmerman Zyl - Tiny House Builder / Zyl Vardos

● Fabio Vighi - Professor of Italian & Critical Theory / Cardiff University

FEATURED

Yung Phil – Turf Dancer

Oakland native Phillip Mays, aka Yung Phil, is a pioneer of turf dancing, a form of street dancing with roots in Oakland, California. He has collaborated with many well-known hip-hop artists, including Lil Jon, E-40, G-Eazy, YG, DJ Snake, Tyga, Quavo, and more, performing alongside them on tour and in music videos. In 2019, Yung Phil was featured on NPR (KQED) in a piece highlighting Oakland’s hip-hop dance culture.

Sandman – MC Emeritus

Prior to releasing a solo album titled, The Art of Dreaming, Sandman was cultivated as an emcee during his involvement with the dynamic hip hop group “The Attik.” His association with the group began as a teen and eventually blossomed into something formal. In 2005 the group released the album Jungle Electric. Sandman has shared a stage with KRS-One, Dead Prez, E-40, San Quinn, Mr. FAB, Aceyalone, Zion I, Game Rebellion, Medusa and many more. A veteran of performing, he has rocked stages from the Bay Area to New York and Puerto Rico and shined at legendary venues, such as the Fillmore, in front of sold-out crowds. Sandman joined EMN in 2013.

Marc Brew - Choreographer

AXIS Dance Company integrates disabled and non-disabled artists to render unique works that challenge conventional dance aesthetics. We follow the artistic director, Marc Brew in his journey to create his new work as well as his process as a disabled choreographer Method Sampling unusual attributes of disabilities, sparking changes in choreographic repertoires.

Abel Zimmerman Zyl - Tiny House Builder

Founder of the tiny homes building company Zyl Vardos, Abel is known for his whimsical and extremely original designs. He Method Samples foreign architectural styles (i.e. Asian tile patterns), methodology of ship building as well as natural designs (biomimicry). We look at his houses and discuss his idea on mobile tiny houses as the future of living.

William Padilla-Brown - Permaculture Designer

William is a MultiDisciplinary Citizen Scientist practicing social science, mycology, phycology, molecular biology, and additive manufacturing. He wrote the very first books in English on Cordyceps cultivation by watching Thai YouTube videos and mimicking the process without understanding the language. The result was a new way of Cordyceps cultivation adapted to the needs of small-scale urban farming. William's work has been featured on Fantastic Fungi, VICE, Buzzfeed, The Verge, Outside Magazine, Civil Eats, Public Goods, The Book “One Earth”, and more.

Fabio Vighi - Philosopher

Fabio is professor of Critical Theory and Italian at Cardiff University, UK. His recent work includes Critical Theory and the Crisis of Contemporary Capitalism (Bloomsbury 2015, with Heiko Feldner) and Crisi di valore: Lacan, Marx e il crepuscolo della società del lavoro (Mimesis 2018). Fabio shares his insights on the emergencies we’re experiencing now and comments on how Method Sampling could render a potential solution in navigating the precarious future that’s unfolding.

Key Crew

[a man with a mustache and a tie on a black shirt] Matt Boman, director Method Sampling

[a man sitting on a couch with his hand in air] JooWan Kim, Founder Ensemble Mik Nawooj, Producer

Matthew Boman - Director, Cinematographer, Editor

Southern born filmmaker Matt Boman, a distinguished SCAD alum, is a dynamic force in LA's vibrant video scene. The production powerhouse behind Philip DeFranco's meteoric YouTube rise, Matt's innovative editing skill attracted a multi-million-dollar Google windfall, propelling beloved news network SourceFed to a high-profile Discovery acquisition.

At the creative nexus of thriving Studio Boman, Matt's inventive approach shapes bold content for giants like Warner Records, Apple, and Twitch. With his critically acclaimed directorial feature, "Blurring Man," and his revolutionary second season of OUTtv's "Gogo for the Gold," Matt's artistic prowess is turning heads and shaping trends. A visionary with a finger on the pulse of contemporary culture, Matt Boman is not merely a filmmaker to watch; he's the thrilling future of advertising and entertainment. Don't just keep your eyes on him; get involved in the vision he's manifesting.

[An African American man with braids, glasses and a gray beanie] Chriistopher Nicholas, Ensemble Mik

JOOWAN KIM - Producer

At the age of 20, Korean born composer JooWan Kim moved to the U.S. and began his formal study in composition. During this time, he also trained in Zen meditation and Sundo (仙道), a Korean Taoist internal alchemy under the tutelage of Venerable Hyunoong Sunim for seven years.

Kim had a profound shift in the direction of his writing after a successful performance of a novelty piece which featured an MC and a chamber ensemble. He felt that he found a way out of the stifling contemporary concert music aesthetic in this new way of composition. JooWan crystallized his ideas into Method Sampling, a principle of borrowing or sampling of rationales from related as well as unrelated fields, then reframing them into one's own system.In 2010, Kim recruited his best friend from college, EMN’s executive director, Christopher Nicholas, to push the project forward in a serious way. Since then, EMN attracted some of the most excellent classical musicians and MCs in the SF Bay Area while gaining national attention from outlets such as National Geographic, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, NPR, Pitchfork, NowThis, United Nations, and more. He is represented by Opus 3 Artists.

Josh Nemith - Director, Cinematographer, Editor

From Philadelphia, Nesmith studied music at the undergraduate level before transitioning into film with a distinct focus on music industry clientele. He has produced films, documentaries, and music videos with grammy award winning artists, record labels, and brands.His work has been featured on Vice, CMT, Majestic Casual, and Veeps. Josh uses his field specific knowledge in music to reach an intimate depth in understanding among the artists he collaborates with and regards his musical background as inseparable as well as integral aspect to his cinematic style.

Josh's foray into feature length documentary was as a contributing DP for Flamekeeper which tells the story of Michael Cleveland, who overcomes blindness and partial deafness to become the most awarded fiddler of all time. Flamekeeper premiered in 2019 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and has later been released on Amazon Prime.

CHRISTOPHER NICHOLAS - Producer

Christopher Nicholas received a dual B.M. in Songwriting and Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music in 2004 and an M.M. in Jazz Studies in 2009 from the University of North Texas. In 2010, alongside his college friend, composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, Christopher co-founded the Oakland based Hip-Hop orchestra, and is the Executive Director of Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN). Together, they have run EMN resulting in features, collaborations and commissions from: Amazon, National Geographic, NPR, Pitchfork, ESPN, United Nations, and more. EMN is represented by Opus 3 Artists.