In the late 1990s, a hybrid form of graffiti began appearing in citiesaround the world. Enlisting stickers, stencils, posters, and sculptureand spread by the burgeoning Internet, it would be labeled “street art”and establish itself as the most significant counterculture movement of ageneration. Los Angeles-based filmmaker Terry Guetta set out to recordthis secretive world in all its thrilling detail. For more than eightyears, he traveled with the pack, roaming the streets of America andEurope, the stealthy witness of the world’s most infamous vandals. But after meeting the British stencil artist known only as “Banksy” things took a bizarre turn. Banksy turns the tables on the only man who has ever filmed him, creating a remarkable documentary that is partpersonal journey and part an expose of the art world with its mind-altering mix of hot air and hype. In the end, Exit Through theGift Shop is an amazing ride, a cautionary modern fairy tale . . .with bolt cutters.
“‘Exit Through the Gift Shop’ is one of those films that comes along once in a great while, a warped hybrid of reality and self -induced fiction while at the same time a totally entertaining experience.” John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival
When this film had its world premiere at Sundance in January, 2010 it went from obscurity to the talk-of-the-town overnight. If you like art, or if you've ever looked at something and asked out loud ... "What does it mean?", then you won't want to miss this film. Meanwhile, here is an extended sneak preview to further whet your appetite ...