P-Star Rising
Documentary which follows nine-year-old rapper Priscilla, aka P-Star, and her single father Jesse as they navigate the peaks and pitfalls of the music biz and family relationships.
Single father Jesse Diaz pins his hopes for the family's fortunes and redemption for his own failed music career on his nine-year-old daughter Priscilla when he discovers that she can rap and perform.
This documentary follows Priscilla, aka P-Star, and her father through the grit and glamour of the music industry, capturing the struggles of Jesse in raising his two children and the sacrifices of his daughter to make her dad proud.
At the dawn of hip-hop's breakthrough into the mainstream in the early 1980s, New Yorker Jesse was poised for fame and success when his dreams were quashed by a prison sentence. After their mother succumbed to drug addiction while he was incarcerated his daughters ended up in foster care, but on leaving prison he managed to reclaim his life and get custody of the girls. He is broke, unemployed and living in temporary housing, but recognising Priscilla's music talent and precocious personality, he sets out to make her the next rap phenomenon.
Filmed over four years, the documentary follows Jesse and his daughters as they navigate the peaks and pitfalls of both the music business and family relationships. As Priscilla gets recognition Jesse struggles to balance his responsibilities as a father with his music industry aspirations. Older sister Solsky is increasingly sidelined in the family by Priscilla's career and turns to the church for support when she does poorly at school.
Priscilla risks losing her childhood in order to satisfy her father's demands and finds herself increasingly coming into conflict with him. From performing on street corners to appearing on national TV and signing a record deal, the film reveals the ambition, talents and sacrifices family members make for one another.