Area 08 Vol. 2: The Journey Continues

Two writers in Lisbon talk about what it means to be a woman in graffiti world where the survival of the fittest is prevailed and it's difficult to be accepted.

Docudrama about a young graffiti artist in suburban Saint Petersburg, Russia

Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent struggle. The film follows two young girls (Romi & Yi-Yi) who have escaped 50 years of civil war in Burma to pursue an arts education in Thailand. Under the threat of imprisonment and torture, the girls use spray paint and stencils to create images in public spaces to let people know the truth behind Burma's transition toward "artificial democracy." Eighty-two hundred miles away, artist Shepard Fairey is painting a 30’ mural of a Burmese monk for the same reasons and in support of the students' struggle in Burma. As these stories are inter-cut, the film connects these seemingly unrelated characters around the concept of using art as a weapon for change.

Buenos Aires is a complex, chaotic city. It has European style and a Latin American heart. It has oscillated between dictatorship and democracy for over a century, and its citizens have faced brutal oppression and economic disaster. Throughout all this, successive generations of activists and artists have taken to the streets of this city to express themselves through art. This has given the walls a powerful and symbolic role: they have become the city’s voice. This tradition of expression in public space, of art and activism interweaving, has made the streets of Buenos Aires into a riot of colour and communication, giving the world a lesson in how to make resistance beautiful.

Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action on five continents, the documentary tells the story of graffiti from its origins in prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York City during the 70’s and 80’s, then follows the flames as they paint the globe.

As the walls of Cuba's ageing infrastructure continue to crumble, a burgeoning street art scene is born in Havana. Murals of hand-painted masked character – Supermalo – with the tag “2+2=5?” have begun to appear in seemingly every corner of the heavily foot trafficked city.

Madrid 24/7 is 100% trains and 100% action. Wholesale Cars on both sides of the train, rolled whole cars, backjumps and obviously a lot of trouble with the long arm of the law. The film is set mainly in Madrid's subway but begins with an InterRail trip to Stockholm, Berlin, Prague, Hamburg, Munich and more!

A year in the life of troubled Australian graffiti artist Justin Hughes.

Documenting Graffiti culture in a basketball court in the Bronx. The filmmaker was accompanied by Martin Wong who said, "bring your camera". The Graffiti Hall of Fame is the result.

This short Graffiti documentary exposes the reality of a group of Venezuelan friends who have grown up in the midst of the chaos of their hometown "Caracas", walking its streets from a very early age, knowing and understanding the city in a different way, having a special vision and a particular relationship with her, almost romantic; This letter is the voice of few, but it reflects the feelings of many young people from Caracas who have somehow lost their space in this violent city. Art helped them cross borders and obtain recognition but with melancholy they remain faithful to return and remember that Caracas where they were born, they call themselves “The Children of Disaster.”