P-Star Rising

Back in the 80's, Jesse Diaz was an aspiring hip-hop artist in New York - but one who never quite made it. Instead, the Puerto Rican-American ended up being a devoted single father of two girls, living in a housing project in Harlem. Now, after years of financial struggle, there finally seems be some hope of a better life - his 9-year-old daughter Priscilla has been blessed with the gift of rapping.

Committed to creating an authentic verité film, director Gabriel Noble spent four years absorbed in the life of the family whose every moment revolves around Priscilla - also known as P-Star. Noble's camera follows the family everywhere, making "P-Star Rising" as much the story of a family's struggle with petty everyday problems as it is about the pitfalls of childhood stardom and the difficulties of launching a career in the hip-hop scene.

The rapport between Noble and the subjects in front of his camera appears completely natural and unobtrusive, making this an extremely engaging portrait of the real costs of dreams coming true, and of a father living vicariously through his daughter.
DANNY ROEG

Cast
Priscilla Diaz, Jesse Diaz: Producer
Marjan Tehrani: Cinematography
Gabriel Noble: Music
Ion Furjanic, B. Satz All Stars: Spoken language
English