Business is War
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		Sound Track included

Film Overview

Directed By: Kemal Gordon View Official Website	Release Date: 2010-01-27 Running Time: 1:20 Content Rating: R18 (Restricted)	DVD Region: All Regions Media Format: NTSC-DVD Audio Language(s): English
Genres: Drama >> General Influences: Risky Business, Boiler Room, Empire

Synopsis

"Dutty" Sykes, an urban male raised in a neighborhood shadowed by Boston's expanding skyline, understood the reality of business decisions at an early age. Raised by Roneesha Sykes, a single mother who indoctrinated him with the knowledge of supply and demand, Dutty's business acumen was developed by his observation of and participation in his mother's home-based hustling venture.
As his mother's assistant, Dutty interacted with marginalized individuals, heard the lies they proffered as truths, and wondered why they hadn't been able to navigate success into their lives. The inaudible answers to this question haunt Dutty and purpose him to elude the fates of his mother's clients - he had to make it in life.

Absorbed by the allure of commerce and whetted by an urgent desire to attain financial success, Dutty extracted the lessons learned from his mother and embarked on a career path as a taste-maker. As a young man, Dutty's reputation as a merchant, capable of attaining items desired by his expanding client base, resulted in his attainment of celebrity status. However, as Dutty matured, he desired more. He desired the celebrity brought about by downtown not uptown success.

The realization of Dutty's goal occurred in his early twenties when a plot he orchestrated for one of his downtown clients resulted in his gaining entry into Boston's corporate community.

The values of diligence and perseverance instilled into him by Roneesha as well as his utilization of street savvy enabled Dutty to enter and engage successfully in a world that was once only relegated to his dreams - the corporate world. As an intern at Proctor and Smith, Dutty assimilated the characteristics of his station without sacrificing his dignity or dismissing his perceptions of the corporate environment.

With his professional life being punctuated by successes, and his personal life buoyed by a love interest, Dutty continued his ascent of the corporate ladder. Ironically, Dutty's success resulted in unexpected outcomes for he soon found himself victimized by the professional jealousy of his colleagues.

Vilified, engulfed by uncertainty, and facing incarceration, Dutty sees his effort to legitimize himself transformed into a mechanism pledged to his own destruction. On the brink of loss, Dutty receives unanticipated assistance that allows him to elude the trap that had been set for him.

Armed by his mother's values, and a lucid perception of the corporate world and life, Dutty formulates a strategy for his attainment of the American dream. With expertise both on the block and in the boardroom, a confident Dutty moves forward yet mindful that- Business is War.

Cast

Dutty Sykes: Christopher "Chaun" Bennett
Jimmy: Dennis Person
Zookie: Wayne Stephens
Josh: William O' Malley
Taylor: Olivia Burnett

Crew

Director: Kemal Gordon

Bonus Features

Director Commentary
Cast Interviews
Theatrical Trailers

Accolades

Awards

Audience Favorite Award
2009 Emerging Local Filmmaker Award
Best New Filmmaker Award

Festivals

2009 Roxbury Film Festival
2009 Roxbury Film Festival
2009 Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival
2009 Peachtree Village International Film Festival
2009 South African International Film Festival
2010 Aluta Film Festival

Press Reviews

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Business Is War

"Friday night, this reporter saw Kemal Gordon’s “Business Is War,” a good example of local, socially conscious film making.

The plot of this feature, which stars professional and novice actors, revolves around Dennis “Dutty Sykes, a very successful street entrepreneur. During several voice-overs by the Dutty character - played with passion and intensity by Boston-born actor Christopher Chaun Bennett – he refers to this work as “hustling.”

But Dutty and his best friends Jimmy and Zookie (portrayed with sometimes over the top but mostly intelligent use of “street cred” attitude by Dennis Person and Wayne Stephens, respectively) are much more than hustlers, selfishly looking out for themselves. Oh, they love money all right – Zookie works as an enforcer and Jimmy sells pot out of his car - but as Director and writer Kemal Gordon paints them, they each bring much needed financial lubrication and capitalist legitimacy to parts of the city that for years have been ignored by city officials and business developers alike.

From a narrative point of view, the film is pure. Not simple, but crystalline, as the story traces Dutty’s life as it progresses from what Kemal Gordon referred to during a question and answer session following his film on Friday, as “the seedy world of the ghetto to the squeaky clean world of the corporation.” Of course, the irony, embedded in the film’s title, is that there’s a non-stop war for survival going on in Boston’s inner city neighborhoods and in the boardrooms and hallways of corporate America."
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Features – Documentaries & Narratives

"Filmed with a gritty style that complements its theme, Business Is War was among the premiere features shown this past week. Directed by Jamal Gordon, the film centers on Dennis “Dutty” Sykes, a brilliant Boston hustler who’s always able to get the best of merchandise for his clients – from Gucci bags to rare wine – but is smart enough to stay away from consuming street violence. But this isn’t a ghetto film folks. Dutty, like a true hustler, is sharp enough to realize that the hustle game can’t last much longer and seizes upon an opportunity to move into the corporate world and uses his business skills to climb up that ladder quickly. But just like the streets, there are people in the corporate world trying to bring him down as both of his lives crash in on each other. Played with true charm by newcomer and Boston local Christopher Bennett, Business’ Dutty is an extremely likeable character that has you cheering for his success. The rest of the cast stands out as well, especially Corey Rodrigues as the comedy relief character Black, Wayne Stephens as the muscle of Dutty’s crew Zookie, and John Depew as Dutty’s boss Mr. Smith. Check out more on the film at http://www.biwthemovie.com and the trailer below."