BANKSY DOCUMENTARY: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Keep on the look out in theaters this March, for the new Banksy film: “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.  Billed as “The World’s first street art disaster movie”, the film is narrated by Welsh film star Rhys fans of “Knotting Hill” fame and stars the anonymous international renowned artist Banksy, himself, who has never spoken on film before. The soundtrack features some pretty cool artists as well,  like The Bristolians,  Roni Size and Geoff Barrow.

Banksy has transcended cult status to become a legitimate  icon in the art work, whose  politically  humorous, often anti-establishment street art installations have attracted a storm of media attention.  The movie chronicles the guerrilla art movement but then takes a satirical look at celebrity, consumerism and the art and film making world. The film began as a project from Thierry Guetta,  aka Mr. Brainwash an eccentric French film-maker/graffiti artist, who videotapes everything in his life . Mr. Brainwash was an assistant of Banksy who began filming the artist, who according to Banksy is “maybe just someone with mental problems who happened to have a camera.” The footage was then re-cut by Banksy who took control of the film creating an interesting  film within a film. While the film touches on a broad spectrum of conceptions/misconceptions about street art, the message is a bit ambiguous and towards the end of the film Banksy confides ” Maybe it means art is a bit of a joke”. Check out the trailer below: