Game Changers: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

Showings

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Sun, Feb 25, 2018 3:45 PM
Film Info
Runtime:88 min
Country Listing:USA
Copyright:2010
Rating:14A
Cast/Crew Info
Director(s):Tamra Davis
Cinema Extra
Featuring:Jean-Michel Basquiat

Description

Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot more than 20 years ago, this film chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of art-world wunderkind Jean-Michel Basquiat. In the crime-ridden New York of the 1970s, Basquiat gained notoriety for his high-energy graffiti art. By 1983, his bold paintings had won him international critical and commercial success - he was only 23. With compassion and insight, Davis uncovers the mysteries that surrounded this charismatic artist of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the roller coaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody.

Co-presented by A Different Booklist.

Additional Information

Game Changers: Throughout Black History Month, our popular series pays tribute to Black cultural visionaries who inspire us to push ahead at a time of profound social change.

Nominee—Grand Jury Prize, Documentary, Sundance Film Festival 2010
Official Selection—SxSW 2010

"A painter whose work matters enormously in the history of late-twentieth-century art." – Artforum

"An amazing and tragic story." – Boston Globe