Jean-Michel Basquiat’s artistic flame burned intensely before his death at age 27 in 1988. His recognition has only increased since then. He was memorialised in Julian Schnabel’s film Basquiat and recently set the auction record for an American artist with his Untitled graffiti painting of a skull. Filmmaker Sara Driver brings a fresh perspective to the life of this mercurial figure during his formative years, when he was a homeless teenager in New York City. His story is told through the memories of people who knew him personally, including rapper Fab 5 Freddy, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, and graffiti artist Lee Quiñones.
Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Directed by Sara Driver