From the award-winning documentary filmmaker Carl Eneroth (“All the Way”) comes Streetstar and Sthlm Social Innovation Labs documentary ON THE BEAT – FROM THE STREET TO A STAR, a lively, intimate and sincere portrait of Stockholm’s streetdance scene, where contestants prepare and others to win Streetstar, the Scandinavian qualifying competition for Juste Debout, the hip-hop world championship in Paris.

The competition is decided in dance battles. Here, the contestants are pitted against each other to improvise, On the Beat, to a song they do not know in advance. We follow behind the scenes to meet winners and hopefuls, DJs, MCs, choreographers, judges, researchers and organizers on a rhythmic journey from exclusion to inclusion, as they bring their own audience and artistry to the big stages.

ON THE BEAT is both a “get-up-and-dance” documentary and an inspiring snapshot of a passion-driven subculture that offers an alternative path to crime and violence in troubled suburbs, where self-esteem is built through dance with courage, respect and love.

When inner dramas are released on the dance floor, the question of how dancers find their rhythm becomes an exploration of the enigmatic hip-hop culture itself. The answers point to the “cypresses” where street dancers in a circle take turns showing off their talent, which is how people have built a society since the dawn of civilization. Form a circle and hit a drum. Here we all belong.

The result is a tribute to the unifying power of dance with the battle cry “Each One Teach One” for these dancing soldiers in their peaceful war. But above all, they celebrate each other.