Punk the Capital

When punk rock erupted in Washington D. C., it was a mighty convergence of powerful music, friendships and clear minds. This film is the first to explore the incredible challenges that this subculture faced when it took root in the Nation's Capital in the late 1970s.

Punk The Capital situates D. C. punk within the larger narratives of rock 'n' roll, working as a powerful multi-layered story for both fans and non-fans of punk rock. Featuring musicians such as Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye and Jello Biafra, this film dives deep into the ideas and sounds from this transformative music scene which continues to be influential culturally and politically around the world.

Created by James June Schneider (co-director, editor), Paul Bishow (co-director) and Sam Lavine (associate producer, co-editor), Punk The Capital was theatrically released in the US in May 2021, garnering rave reviews from the press and fans alike. Many of the screenings became special events, with Q&As with the directors and Pete Stahl of Scream, Chris Stover of Void, Nicky Thomas of Fire Party, curator/publisher Roger Gastman and Hudley Flipside of Flipside fanzine.

Schneider states: "As we roll the film out, we've been blown away by the positive response not just from fans of punk and D. C. punk who see and hear a lot of unseen material. We've also heard from a lot of people even up to 90 years old who didn't really like punk but nonetheless love the film. We're glad to see that Punk The Capital works on a lot of levels and are hoping that it will reach a broad audience since the DIY ideas highlighted in the film about the D. C. punk scene go well beyond the music."