SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS

Director Bio:
Native New Yorker Sacha Jenkins came of age while in the throes of the cultural phenomenon called hip-hop. In his teens, Jenkins published his first magazine—Graphic Scenes & X-Plicit Language (a ‘zine about the graffiti subculture). Jenkins would co-found Beat Down, the first-ever hip hop newspaper. From there he moved on to Vibe magazine, serving as both staff writer and music editor; Jenkins would pen seminal articles on artists like Sean “Puffy” Combs, 50 Cent and Bone Thugz N Harmony. In 2000, Jenkins was awarded a fellowship to the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University (The National Arts Journalism Program). It was Jenkins’ vast knowledge of the history of New York subway graffiti would deliver him to the Ivy League.

Jenkins’ first feature-length documentary, Fresh Dressed–which tells the tale of hip hop fashion–premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Jenkins’ next film, 2017’s Burn Motherfucker, Burn!, unpacks the Los Angeles “riots” of 1965 and 1992. Most recently, Jenkins directed Wu Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men” (2019) and Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James (2021). Jenkins’ band, The 1865, were the first punk band to play outdoors on the grounds of Lincoln Center. He lives in upper Manhattan with his wife, author and filmmaker Raquel Cepeda and their son Marceau. In his spare time, Jenkins likes to spy on the woodpeckers, blue jays, rabbits, deer, coyote and assorted other wildlife that populate the family’s Upstate New York home. During the work week, Jenkins is the Chief Creative Officer at Mass Appeal.