2 Comments Written by George Ironside on February 15, 2010 – 9:04 pm

As part of the Berlin Film Festival Berlinale, a private showing of Exit Through The Gift Shop was screened last night at Potsdamer Platz. As you may have heard, the film is presented by the infamous and un-recognisable Banksy. I was lucky enough to be invited along to the Berlin premiere and besides falling over on the red carpet, I had an otherwise safe experience.

The movie is a documentary but with some explosive turning points. The intial documentary maker is Thierry Guetta, a small french man with a compulsive disorder to film all that is around him. His obsession with keeping the camera rolling results in raw contact with some of the world’s most recognisable and sought after street artists. This guy has no idea how lucky he is! His limited knowledge of street art etiquette favours him throughout the process as he persues highly popular streetartists such as INVADER, Shepard Fairey and even Banksy.

Banksy is interviewed throughout the documentary with his own take on it’s evolution. The quick wittedness that he presents both in his streetart and published statements is clearly also a verbal gift as we finally get to hear him speak. After Banksy realises that the documentary maker is no more than a crazy nut job, he tries to gain some order to the thousands of un-edited tapes Guetta had been hoarding. Banksy devises a plan to distract Guetta by suggesting he holds his own solo exhibition.  Was it successful? Well, I guess it depends who you’re rooting for. Make sure to see this movie when it’s released! I’ll leave the final judgement up to you.

“As it turns out, I think we might have a film that does for street art what ‘Jaws’ did for waterskiing.” – Banksy