Having received big film festivals premieres at both Sundance and Berlin, it’s now time for Exit Through the Gift Shop to receive a warm, homecoming welcome in a place that is naturally more in tune with where the artist produces some of his canvas work. Forget about the multiplex, The Guardian reports that “a tunnel beneath Waterloo train station in London” is the lieu of the London premiere – here’s a look at where Banksy’s film will be shown. Despite all the buzz behind the so-called doc, it has yet to find a U.S distributor. Perhaps the logistics of not knowing how to market the film is something that the Cinetic folks are hearing from prospective buyers.
Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop is the story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur filmmaker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. Billed as ‘the world’s first street art disaster movie’ the film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work.
