A Look at this Summer’s Hottest New Film: Kicks

Premiering at the 15^th edition of New York’s Tribeca Film Festival this April, Kicks is director Justin Tipping’s first feature film and has already begun to garner great critical acclaim in the US during this year’s festival season. The film follows the coming-of-age story of 15-year-old Brandon whose journey towards manhood is set in motion when local bully Flaco steals the fresh kicks Brandon has been working so hard towards. Starring a strong ensemble cast and a standout performance from newcomer Jahking Guillory, Kicks has been praised for its visual richness as well as its excellent soundtrack which is packed with hip-hop classics and has seen the film branded as the movie every hip-hop head needs to see this summer.

At the heart of the film is the growth of US sneakerhead culture. Since the 1980s footwear fandom has been on the rise until to point today where it is considered a culture within itself, illustrated by a sell-on industry that is able to drive huge sale prices for coveted trainer models. Kicks attempts to capture what the humble sneaker has become for sneakerheads today: a powerful cultural symbol and a ticket into the worldwide sneaker community. A trainer is no longer a product designed merely to comfort the foot as you walk; instead your choice of footwear denotes a part of your personality, it is a cultural status, a revealing insight into your personality. Wherever your footwear fidelities lie, your choice of kicks has never been as important as it is today.

Kicks will next be presented during June’s LA Film Festival where tickets for screenings have already sold out. Find out more about the film on the official website or see what people are saying about the film using the hashtag #kicksfilm.