14th Annual
Film and Screenplay Festival
Thursday July 05, 2018
Toronto, Canada
11:00AM-1:00PM
*Feature Screenplay Winner*
Location:
Hart House – 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3
University of Toronto Campus – (College McCaul TTC Stop)
Graffiti Boy <3 Guerrilla Girl
116 Pages – Canada Premiere
by Tara Arkle, United Kingdom
KeyWords #Screenplay #StreetArt #ART #UrbanArt #Guerrilla #Gardeners #Graf #Graffiti #GraffitiArt #GraffitiMash #Vandalism #SprayArt #BreakDancingJesus #Sikhism #UnitedKingdom
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Inspiration for the Screenplay Street Art is big, beautiful, and brash. It often has a political message, and this message speaks a language that people can immediately grasp and understand. Street art is art for the people, and it’s freely available, not holed up in museums. It says a lot about the world we live in, reflecting changing attitudes. There is nothing precious about it as pieces are often painted/sprayed over by other artists so these art works can have quite a short shelf life, but in that time they can inspire people and areas. It is also illegal–well at least the ones that aren’t by famous artists, and this begs an interesting question about art and fame, and whether society is wrong to tear down one art work and sell another for millions.
I was captivated by the street art in my nearby town. A town where celebrated street artist, Banksy grew up and cut his teeth as a street artist. I started to spend more and more time investigating this area and the people who made the art and found a vibrant community who are passionate about what they do. Nobody has made a narrative film about this world, and I felt it was time somebody did. I feel there are pertinent questions to ask about the place of art in our culture. I wanted this film to use the backdrops of street art to tell as much of a story as the drama. To utilise the backdrops of street art to support and illuminate the drama of the story; to work alongside as a living, breathing testimony to the storyline. In fact it has been my intention to make a film where the lines that separate art and life blend till neither was discernibly different.
My film also looks at the subject of gentrification; something which is also happening extensively across many capital cities. Where cultural enclaves that were once abandoned by councils suddenly become cash cows for construction companies and the same councils that ignored them now want to buy in when they see how these areas have attracted a new influx of people due to the creative community that live there. They piggy back on this newfound invigoration, and take over and turn them into another shopping mall or building complex, destroying the very creative elements that made it so attractive in the first place. Lastly, but by no means least, my screenplay looks at what it means to be an artist, and a Sikh; how art and religion intersect. And how the rich, and no less colourful world of religions can often come head to head with burgeoning cultural norms.