Watch the Trailer for Dancehall Queen Documentary “Bruk Out”

Words by Kalifa Madden

Coming from an island brimming with creative energy, dancehall has influenced popular music, clothing, and perhaps most noticeably, dance. The movement style associated with Jamaica’s popular music has become a worldwide phenomenon, with female dancers — so-called Dancehall Queens — as the leaders of the artform.

BRUK OUT! is an upcoming documentary that follows six Dancehall Queens from various parts of the world, including Jamaica, Poland and Japan, as they prepare to compete for the title of worldwide Dancehall Queen in Kingston. This intimate portrait tells the stories of each of these women, as they prepare to take on the task of being considered the best dancehall dancer on the planet. The title of the documentary references not only the dancers’ ability to contort their body, but to also visibly enjoy their craft while doing so.

Directed by Cori McKenna (editor of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), BRUK OUT! shows the global reach that dancehall has created, through the lens of many these aspiring Dancehall Queens.

Financed in part through Kickstarter and originally slated to be released in August of last year, McKenna recently released a new teaser video, featuring appearances from Elephant Man, Voicemail, Ding Dong and Major Lazer, to give the global community a taste of what is to come. Watch it, and the original trailer, below.