''Sucker Free City'' is a 2004 television film directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

. The film examines white, black, and Chinese characters in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and the conflicts they encounter with each other. The film was intended to be the pilot for a

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

television series, but Showtime declined to pick up the series. The film was first screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

and was subsequently broadcast on television on the Showtime Network. The title of the movie derives from "Sucka Free", a slang term in reference to the city often used by natives of Hunters Point and

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

made popular by rappers

San Quinn Quincy Brooks IV (born October 24, 1977), better known by his stage name San Quinn, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He is the cousin of Messy Marv, Stevie Johnson, and Ya Boy. Early life Brooks was born in Oakland, Califor ...

JT the Bigga Figga Joseph Tom, better known by his stage name JT the Bigga Figga (also known as Figg Panamera), is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive from the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco, California. He has produced music on over ...

(who has a cameo in the movie) and most notably the song "Sucka Free" from

Rappin' 4-Tay Anthony H. Forté (born March 2, 1968), better known by his stage name Rappin' 4-Tay, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. Early life Anthony Forte was born March 2, 1968 and grew up in San Francisco's Fillmore District. He has ...

's 1994 album

Don't Fight the Feelin' ''Don't Fight the Feelin is the second studio album by American rapper Rappin' 4-Tay from San Francisco, California. It was released on July 26, 1994 via Chrysalis Records and Rag Top Records. Recording session took place at Graffiti Tunez in We ...

Synopsis

The film follows three young men as they are drawn into lives of crime. Nick (Crowley) uses his entry-level corporate job to commit credit card fraud and deals drugs on the side. K-Luv (Mackie) is a member of the "V-Dubs" ("

Visitacion Valley Visitacion Valley (; Spanish: ''Valle de la Visitación''), colloquially referred to as Viz Valley, is a neighborhood located in the southeastern quadrant of San Francisco, California. Visitacion Valley is roughly defined by McLaren Park and Glen ...

Mafia"), an African-American street gang. Lincoln (Leung) is a rising figure in the

Chinese mafia A triad ( zh , t=三合會 , s=三合会 , cy=sāam hahp wúi , j=saam1 hap6 wui6‑2 , hp=sān hé huì , first=t,j ) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China and has outposts in various countries with signific ...

Gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

forces Nick's family to move out of their home in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

into Hunter's Point, where they are harassed by the V-Dubs. K-Luv's side business of selling bootleg compact discs leads him to enlist Nick's help to bootleg CDs and to negotiate a truce with Lincoln. Lincoln conducts an affair with his boss's daughter Angela (Carpio), a

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

student engaged to a medical student classmate (Chung).

Cast

References

External links

*
San Francisco Chronicle article on the making of the film (Part 1)San Francisco Chronicle article on the making of the film (Part 2)
{{Spike Lee 2004 television films 2004 films 2004 drama films Films directed by Spike Lee Films scored by Terence Blanchard Films about race and ethnicity Films set in San Francisco American gangster films Hood films Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series Triad films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Hong Kong films Bayview–Hunters Point, San Francisco