How to Sell... (alternate movie title)

Exit Through the Gift Shop, dubbed the "world's first Street Art disaster movie," is the first film by renowned street artist Banksy, whose celebrated and sought-after works now routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, with select pieces now going in the millions. Banksy's identity has, rather famously, never been revealed, which only adds to the intrigue. True to form, the film was a last minute entry to the Sundance Film Festival, and wasn't listed in either the festival's film schedules nor its catalog. As all things Banksy, the movie instantly became the hottest ticket in town, helped in no small part to the bevy of Banksy originals that appeared throughout Park City during the festival. To illustrate the power of his art, a one foot tall tag of a Banksy rat wearing 3d glasses (right) found on a theater door caused the owner to immediately remove and quarantine the door in hopes of selling the artwork to pay off debts and save the not-for-profit theater.

For those further interested, this feature from Britain's Sunday Times is a fantastic read, complete with a Banksy designed magazine cover (left). While the film does contain footage of Banksy at work, those expecting an expose on the man or his work might leave disappointed. Instead, as the film's release states, "Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner – with spectacular results. The film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work, on walls and in interview. As Banksy describes it, "It’s basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed."


For those unfamiliar with Banksy's work, it would be worth reading his Wikiality post and taking a look at some of his more infamous controversies, including his work on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank (below) before seeing this film.
The official reviews of the film have been positive, netting a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, though many critics have questioned whether the film is truly a documentary, or some other derivation of the genre (both prank-umentary and mock-umentary have been mentioned), as conspiracy theories abound. Mahnohla Dargis posited that the film might be a spoof in her New York Times review, while other critics have gone further to allege that the entire endeavor (and the crazy Frenchman himself) was all an intricate prank.

However you view the film, you have to hand it to Banksy and his team of merry marketers. The film premiered in the UK outside a train station in an abandoned tunnel, where a makeshift cinema was built and audience members were presented with tins of spray paint as parting gifts. The official film trailer is below, and release dates in the US can be found on the official website.