Dir. Edo Bertoglio US 1981/2000
Legendary American artist Jean Michel Basquiat was a 19-year old painter,
graffiti artist, poet and musician when he played the lead in Downtown 81, a "lost"
film which vividly depicts the explosive downtown New York art and music scene of
1980-81. In this modern day fairy tale, Basquiat plays a young artist who faces
eviction and walks the pre-gentrified streets of the East Village, trying to raise
the funds for his rent. Along the way he stumbles into such downtown haunts as the Mudd
Club and the Peppermint Lounge. Downtown 81 offers a slice of life from an
exciting period in American culture; the emergence of new wave music, new painting,
hip hop and graffiti art. With Deborah Harry, Kid Creole and the Coconuts,
the Plastics and the music of Melle Mel, John Lurie, Lydia Lunch, and Vincent Gallo. (75m)
