Steet Art

Exactly a year after meeting some of the crew members of THE SQUARE on their way back from receiving last-year's Sundance Audience Award, I finally managed to see the film last night at the Cinema Village. The screening was hosted by an NGO called WITNESS which trains civil rights activists around the world to use cameras and record the issues they are fighting to resolve. The connection with the film was that one of the characters was part of their peer training network.

Jehane Noujaim’s film really deserves all the recognition it received during the last year including its recent Oscar nomination. It's a true behind-the-scenes doc about the people of Tahir Square and the ongoing battle for justice on the streets of Cairo which is so difficult to understand from the news stories we hear. It touches upon the importance of independent media and the ways the biggest civil disobedience movement of our time was organized. Several characters are in the spotlight, including British-Egyptian actor and star of The Kite Runner Khalid Abdalla and an activist from the Muslim Brotherhood which I found most interesting.

The film is now on Netflix and according to the project website you can organize a local screeing of the film so for all my activist friends - check it out and make sure more people see it!

I'm also quite proud to say that two of the people involved actively in the film - Muhammed Hamdy (co-producer and lead cinematographer) and Alexandra Johnes (executive and co-producer) are part of my Documentary Film Program at NYFA. Hamdy graduated a year before me and Ali is one of my producing professors so keeping my fingers tightly crossed for the Oscars!

 

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Check out this brand new video of Street Artist ROA presented by The SK8room. Twenty percent of all sales that come from this campaign will be donated to Skateistan, a not-for-profit that teaches empowerment through skateboarding to children in impoverished countries like Afghanistan and Cambodia. See some more photos of ROA's latest street art in Mexico and Gambia from Brooklyn Street Art. photo © ROA

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Here is the trailer of a brand new documentary and cross-media project about the power of creative, nonviolent activism and modern civil disobedience (also featuring protest tips!). A project about the various methods of nonviolent resistance, new and old, seen through current movements of the Arabian and Iranian uprisings, as well as former successful and less successful protests but also growing protests such as Occupy Wall Street or the Indignados movement of Spain.Using the most common and creative methods of nonviolent resistance as a narrative guideline through the film, Everyday Rebellion displays the work and life of activists all over the world, who often risk their lives to fight for a better tomorrow. The film by Arman and Arash T. Riahi is currently in production and is expected to be shown in cinemas end of 2013. The accompanying webseries "Creative Resistance" by ARTE Creative presents every week methods of peaceful protest that are presented by icons of the movements, activists, artists but also by creative users. The project is a tribute to the creativity of the non-violent resistance. Because, as J.R.R. Tolkien similarly claimed, even the smallest action can change the world… Democracy is like love, you need to do it everyday!

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One of my favorite graffiti artists - BLU - completed a new mural in Rome near Ponte Marconi at the end of 2012. And as the saying goes "when in Rome, do as the Romans do": discuss the Pope, the institution of the Catholic church, its dodgy investments in not so holly businesses and more. See some close ups of the street mural here.

For a full update of BLU’s sketches, walls and videos go to www.blublu.org (he’s also selling a DVD but that has been sold out!)

If you have missed to see MUTO: the incredible stop motion graffiti film by BLU from 2008 viewed by over 10 million people and awarded by just about any big festival (but only after its creative commons online splash), here is one more chance:

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Check out this short collage of French street artist JR's projects with a phone call voice over by himself. JR is a TED Prize winner (watch his awarded presentation).

If you like what he does check out his latest project  www.isideoutproject.net where you can actually take part in person. He calls it the "biggest global art participatory project in the world" with over 100 000 posters already printed and sent out to people! See some examples of how people have used the campaign in various places. 

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Hi to all

So this is my first blog...decided to start with this ROA graffiti simply because I find street art fascinating. You can also see an Instagram widget on the bottom of the web which will link you to some of the fab art I come across on the streets of NY (and sometimes simply weird things my friends or strangers do).

Here is what I plan to post about: projects I work on, films I've seen and street art I find interesting. Hope it makes sense to someone else too and really hope to hear back from people who do!    

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