Slam
“Words make sense of a world that won't.”
Raymond Joshua, a young black performance poet, is arrested and imprisoned for a petty marijuana charge in a Washington, D.C. jail. Although the confining prison walls do little to shield him from danger, it is within those walls that Raymond establishes his identity, strength, and voice and meets a prison gang leader and a prison writing teacher, Lauren Bell. Bell inspires Raymond to use the power of creative expression to free himself from the struggles and demise of the Black male as another victim of the judicial system.
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Cast
33 people
Saul Williams
Ray Joshua
Known for
K-PAX
Sinners
Sonja Sohn
Lauren Bell
Known for
The Wire
Will Trent
Bonz Malone
Hopha
Also in
Life
Shaft
Lawrence Wilson
Big Mike
Beau Sia
Jimmy Huang
Known for
Rachel Getting Married
Murder Party
Andre Taylor
China
Momolu Stewart
Bay (Jail Rapper)
No other roles listed
Ron Jones
Do Wop Cop
Reamer Shedrick
Do Wop Cop
No other roles listed
Allan E. Lucas
Chief C.O.
No other roles listed
Dominic Chianese Jr.
Officer Dom
Known for
All About the Benjamins
Jerome Goldman
Jail Class Poet 'Why'
No other roles listed
Marc Levin Director · Saul Williams Screenplay Bonz Malone Screenplay
Worldwide gross $1M · United States release October 7, 1998 · Produced in United States
Box office
Worldwide gross
$1,009,819
Production
Off Line Entertainment Group
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · January 20, 1998
Premiere · Sundance Film Festival
United States · October 7, 1998
Theatrical
Argentina
October 14, 1999
Australia
August 3, 2023 · Premiere · Melbourne International Film Festival (restoration)
France
November 11, 1998
Italy
January 7, 1999
South Korea
August 21, 1999
Spain
June 18, 1999
United Kingdom
April 9, 1999
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Some details come from TheTVDB.