Originally created for broadcast on PBS, in this seminal documentary, photographer Henry Chalfant and filmmaker Tony Silver follow several young graffiti artists through subway tunnels, train yards, and their own homes as they reveal philosophical insights into their lives and art. The film takes them as seriously as they take themselves, and what results is a stunning document of work from some of the greatest graffiti artists of the era. The other side provides some comic relief in the form of interviews with notorious New York City Mayor Ed Koch (who sports a sunny grin at the thought of graffiti artists getting the death penalty), pissed-off representatives of the MTA, and one very exasperated mother: “what you’ve got is a whole miserable subculture.” Still photographs of massive graffiti pieces by Chalfant and veteran scene photographer Martha Cooper are a sight to behold, and a soundtrack filled with classic hip hop from The Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, and the Treacherous Three will have you dancing all the way home. 

Joey Garfield is an award winning filmmaker and music video director who made Style Wars Revisited with his mentor Henry Chalfant for the 20 year anniversary of the seminal film Style Wars. He also created the feature Breath Control: The History Of The Human Beat Box about the often unrepresented fifth element of Hip Hop as well as the street art classic A Love Letter For You with Steve ESPO Powers. Joey was responsible for the street artist profile series The Run Up in addition to several films for Red Bull Music Academy’s doc series The Note, specifically the mixmaster DJ film Revolutions On Air and The Disco Demolition. He has had the honor of working with Run The Jewels, Big Boi, Lupe Fiasco, Kevin Hart, The Cool Kids, Hannibal Burris, RJD2, Aesop Rock and Prince to name a bunch. Joey’s photographs, interviews and articles have been published in Juxtapoz magazine, Heeb, Stop Smiling, and The Beastie Boys magazine Grand Royal the latter of which he was offered the role of the Octopus Monster in their music video Intergalactic instead of payment. This offer he accepted.