Punk the Capital; Building a Sound Movement is a documentary film released in June 2019, focusing on the historical roots of the Washington, D.C. punk community.[1] It was produced and directed by filmmaker James June Schneider and co-created with filmmaker Paul Bishow. Sam Lavine was also a producer of the film.[2]
Uncut rated the film four out of five stars, stating, "The wealth of great video footage in Punk The Capital underlines what made DC hardcore unique; the main protagonists were not marginal dropouts, as they were in New York and California, but the well-heeled, eloquent children of admirals, diplomats and journalists, with the will and means to succeed without outside support."[7]The Washington Post described the film's coverage of Bad Brians as a "compelling narrative" and that the "archival footage of this quartet of black musicians in a predominantly white community gives a sense of just what a jolt to the system they were."[4]
Showings
Since its release, the documentary has been shown at film festivals[5] and AFI Silver's "More Than a Witness: Positive Force DC and Revolution Summer at 40" in 2025[8] and cited in publications about punk music's history.[9][10] The materials discovered while making the documentary helped spur the creation of the DC Punk Archives, held by the Washington, D.C. Public Library. The archives launched in 2014, five years ahead the film's release.[11]
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