Positive Force: More Than A Witness; 30 Years Of Punk Politics In Action

• Over and hour and a half of bonus features
• Rare live footage of influential punk bands

Covering a span of 30 years, More Than A Witness documents Positive Force’s origins, the creation of its communal house, FBI harassment, and the rise of a vibrant underground that burst into the mainstream amidst controversy over both the means and the ends of the movement. In the best punk fashion, Positive Force has applied creative DIY tactics and radical critiques to issues of homelessness, hunger, racism, corporate globalization, sexism, homophobia, war, gentrification, aging, and animal/ earth liberation, while struggling to constructively address conflicting dynamics and visions within the group itself.

This feature-length film by Robin Bell skilfully mixes rare archival footage (including electrifying live performances from Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Rites of Spring, Nation of Ulysses, Anti-Flag and more) with new interviews of Positive Force activists including co-founder Mark Andersen (co-author of Dance of Days) and Jenny Toomey (Simple Machines) as well as supporters such as Ian MacKaye, Jello Biafra, Dave Grohl, Ted Leo, Riot Grrrl co-founders Kathleen Hanna and Allison Wolfe and many more.

Punk activist collective Positive Force DC emerged in 1985, rising from the creative, politically charged ferment of DC punk’s Revolution Summer. Born in a dynamic local scene sparked by Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Rites of Spring, a handful of young activists also drew inspiration from UK anarcho-punks Crass and the original “Positive Force” band Seven Seconds to become one of the most long-lasting and influential exponents of punk politics.

Bonus Features

• Wake Up! A Profile of Positive Force DC (29 minutes, 1991, a film by David Weinstein)
• Green Hair, Grey Hair (28 minutes, 2008, a film by Katrina Taylor & Rachell Williams)
• Punks, Votes, Riots (21 minutes, 2014)
• Live Performances by: FUGAZI, SEVEN SECONDS, CHUMBAWAMBA, ANTI-FLAG, SOULSIDE, THE EVENS AND BEEFEATER.