Banksy Does New York

Banksy Does New York is an objective account of the hysteria that descended upon New York City in October 2013, following the month long residency of the most famous street artist in the world – Banksy. NYC is the Mecca of the graffiti scene and people fawn over this man, except no one actually knows who Banksy is, what he looks like or where his work will appear. He controls the entire show from his website, posting pictures of where his work is with cryptic clues that New Yorkers need to follow. He turns the entire city into a wild goose chase documented 24/7 on Instagram and Twitter by his fans. The best part about this film is how absent Banksy remains (he has nothing to do with the documentary) and, instead, how central the public is to the event. People cover his artwork and start charging money to see it; they deface it, paint over it, tag on it or literally cut it out of the wall to sell for upwards of $US300k at auction. I also just fucking love how political the work is. Banksy throws the lens back at Americans, forcing them to think about their participation in wars on terror, making references to capitalism, consumerism, animal rights and more. This film shows how absurd yet powerful street art can be.

In cinemas 23 Apr