Hustle & Flow

Director: Craig Brewer
Screenwriters: Craig Brewer

Institute History

  • 2005 Sundance Film Festival

Description

With roots that run deep into the southern milieu from which it comes and characters that are rich, consummately drawn, and full of life, Craig Brewer's Hustle & Flow is a revelation and a delight. Energized by an enormously charismatic central character and a performance by Terrence Howard which is quite simply a breakout, Hustle & Flow creates engagement from its first frames and reaches its peak without a missed note or sidestep.

Djay is a pimp suffering a midlife crisis and although nominally successful, he yearns to record his flow and become a respected rapper. Galvanized by a gospel song, he sets his dream in motion—recruiting his motley crew and building a studio in his home. And though he succeeds in putting his rap, "It's Hard for a Pimp," onto tape, the barriers to fame and fortune are many, and getting there becomes an elusive goal.

Brewer succeeds in imbuing this streetwise yet romantic film with a dimension and a profundity that one doesn't normally associate with its perhaps less-than-refined subjects. But the voices it evokes and the clarity of its vision are as accomplished and memorable as any you've seen. With elements you don't anticipate and characters that play against stereotype, Hustle & Flow is a masterful reframing of the world that creates hip-hop and a succinct and humanizing portrait of the wellspring of contemporary music.

— Geoffrey Gilmore

Screening Details

Sundance Film Festival Awards

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]