Memphis film director Howard Bell IV recently completed his fourth feature film, “Jookin,” which premiered on the Starz cable network app May 1.
“This is a huge accomplishment for myself, the city of Memphis and the local talent that persevered through COVID to get this film completed and acquired by a cable network giant like Starz,” Bell said.
Jookin’ is a style of dance that originated in Memphis. The dance is closely related to a musical style that evolved with hip-hop in the 1980s.
“Jookin” is the first film to put a fictional, narrative spin on the popular dance style.
Bell was born and raised in Memphis, graduating from Westwood High School in 1985. After spending time in Nashville, he moved back to Memphis in 2017 to open a pizza spot called Slice of Soul Pizza Lounge on Madison Avenue in the Medical District.
While at the restaurant, Bell met a young woman in need of a venue for an event, and he offered the space to her.
“That event was my first time seeing a battle of jookin’,” Bell said. “I said, ‘Man, we have to do a movie about this.’”
