Film, News

Banksy Premieres “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” May or May Not Have Attended Sundance

Amy Laviero :: Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 12:30 pm

Oh Banksy, you never cease to entertain. On January 24th at the Sundance Film Festival, the infamous British street artist debuted “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” a documentary which he describes as a “street art disaster film” and whose namesake pokes fun at Disney Land/World’s evil, albeit ingenious marketing strategy of forcing patrons to exit through their gift shops. Although Banksy does (allegedly) make his first ever appearance in the film, his face is blurred and his voice is garbled. And just because he likes to fuck with us, it has been reported that he may or may not have attended the premiere. He did, however, issue the following statement to Sundance Programming Director, John Cooper:

“Ladies and gentlemen, and publicists:

Trying to make a movie which truly conveys the raw thrill and expressive power of art is very difficult. So we haven’t bothered. Instead, this is simply an everyday tale of life, longing, and mindless vandalism. Everything you are about to see is true, especially the bit where we all lie.

Thanks for coming, please don’t give away the ending on Twitter. And please, don’t try copying any of this stuff at home, wait until you get to work.”

The film begins with French film-maker Theirry Guetta filming and interviewing street artists. After meeting Banksy, however, the narrative takes a turn as the filmmaker relinquishes his camera, taking on the moniker “Mr. Brainwash” and holding an art exhibit in L.A., leaving Banksy behind the lens to film. The film documents notable artists including, but not limited to, Shepard Fairey who created the now famous Obama “Hope” poster, and Guetta’s cousin, Invader, who landed on the map after his awesome Space-Invader mosaics began sprouting up on Parisian streets in 1998.

Sundance Director John Cooper has expressed his adoration for “Gift Shop,” stating that on the day of its premiere he wanted to “shake everyone’s hand” in the hopes of hitting Banksy along the way. As expected, the film’s official website gives little away, although it does supply us with a hilarious trailer, embedded below.

Click here to visit Banksy’s official website and scope out some of his (awesome) work.

2 Responses to “Banksy Premieres “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” May or May Not Have Attended Sundance”

  1. Just got back from the sundance screening, it’s a really great film. I posted my thoughts up over on my blog, don’t check it out if you don’t want too much given away:
    http://dadarobotnik.blogspot.com/2010/01/banksys-exits-scene-groucho-marx-caught.html


    Posted by: DBR January 27th, 2010 at 8:40 pm

  2. Jealous! I think I’m going to hold off on reading any more reviews though. I’ve already read quite a lot about it and I don’t want to know too much more. I’m glad you enjoyed it though. I can’t wait until it starting showing around here.


    Posted by: Amy Laviero January 28th, 2010 at 10:36 am
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