Ghetto Children (2024)
Tennessee Premiere, Directed by Zac Manuel
In the shadows of their famous fathers, three New Orleans rappers navigate the pressures of comparison, friendship, family, and the realities of street culture as they strive for success.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, New Orleans rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Soulja Slim put the city in the national music spotlight as the indomitable voices of Black, street culture in the housing projects. As close friends and collaborators, they hustled together, made music together, and topped music charts domestically and worldwide. While Juvenile was able to maintain his status and continue his career as a contemporary elder statesman of rap, the other two rappers succumbed to common fates of the culture: in 2003, as his star rose, Soulja Slim was murdered, and in 2012, B.G. was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. This is the context for the story of Ghetto Children.
Their sons, Young Juve, T.Y., and Lil’ Soulja Slim, met as teenagers and, connected by their shared legacies, decided to pursue careers in rap. Ghetto Children picks up with the trio in 2016, having firmly established their bond with one another, yet still hungry to leave a mark in the music industry. The film follows them for nearly eight years, creating an intimate portrait of Black boyhood-turned-manhood, shaped by a perceived destiny and guided by their distinct relationships with their fathers. Within the shadows of their fathers emerge stark reliefs of generational baggage, minted in real-time through the choices they make, the families they build, and the unshakeable expectations of the culture they inhabit.
Ghetto Children is an immersive documentary told through a combination of intimate verité cinematography and archival footage depicting the highs and lows of their fathers’ lives amidst the rapid transition of the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Director, Cinematographer – Zac Manuel
Producers – James Doolittle, Chris Haney
Executive Producers – Lauren Cioffi, Kathrine Everett, Bryn Mooser, Justin Fontenot
Editor – Robin Schwartz
Composer – James Newberry
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
Q&A with Director Zac Manuel following screening
