If you’re in New York, be sure to check out “Kings of the City” a month long film series of graffiti culture from New York to Europe and back that features rare and classic documentaries, never seen photos, legendary writers and historians. The project was curated by Andreas Vingaard and takes place at Maysles Cinema in Harlem at 343 Lenox Avenue /Malcolm X Boulevard, NYC. 

Here’s the full schedule:

Friday, May1st, 7pm
Saturday, May 2nd 1-11pm
Wednesday, May 6, 13,20,27 @ 7pm

Friday, May 1st
7pm

KET ONE Presents:
The Master Class with Straight Man aka Lava One and Two

Dream City
Dir. Steve Siegel
1986
7 min.
Excerpts from Steve Siegel’s Dream City with loads of trains from the good old days.

Stations of the Elevated:
Dir. Manfred Kirchheimer
1980
45 min.
Director Manfred Kirchheimer presents his cult classic art film with music by Charles Mingus. Director Manfred Kirchheimer will be present for the q&a.

*** Opening Cocktail Reception in the Downstairs Lounge

Saturday, May 2nd
3:00 pm
1.) Stylewars
Dir. Tony Silver
Co-produced by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant
1984
70 min.
2.) All City
Dir. Henry Chalfant
1985
16 min.
3.) From Here to Canarsie
Dir. Henry Chalfant
Co-produced by Henry Chalfant, Jim Prigoff and Sam Henriquez
1987
21 min.

Henry Chalfant has been one the most energetic documentarians of New York graffiti over the years. Henry will be available for book signings and will also present a slideshow with unpublished photos from the 80s. Graffiti artist Skeme’s unforgettable mom, Barbara Andalcio, from the film Style Wars and former Transit Police officer Conrad Lesnewski of Hickey & Ski fame will also be available for the q&a.

7:00pm
Tats Cru Presents
Kings of Broadway
Dir. Chris “Freedom” Pape
1998
22 min.
In the 80s while some NYC writers went the gallery route other writers were kinging the legendary Broadway lines. This film tells the story of the latter and features the writers Ali, Bama, Crash, Ket, Part, Stan 153, Terror 161 and Zephyr.

Bombin’
Dir. Dick Fontaine
1987
58 min.
Join Brim from Tats Cru as he crosses the Atlantic to get up. This rarely seen film also includes Bio from Tats Crew as well as the musician Goldie from the UK. Tats Cru, also known as “the Mural Kings,” is a Bronx based crew of prominent writers that made the transition from trains to commissioned walls.

Wednesday, May 6th
7:00pm
Graffiti Post Graffiti
Dir. Inner Tube Video
1984
26 min.
This lesser known film deals with the initial interest from the established art scene in graffiti. The film features art dealers Sidney Janis and Tony Shafrazi and artists like Crash, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddie, Jean-Michel Basquiat among others.

Inside Outside
Dir. Andreas Johnson and Nis Boye Rasmussen
2005
57 min.
Inside Outside presents some key figures from the current graffiti inspired street art scene including Zevs from Paris, Swoon, KR and Earsnot from NYC, Ron English from Jersey City, Adam & Itso from Sweden and Denmark, and and Os Gemeos and Pigmeus from Sao Paulo.

Wednesday, May 13th
7:00pm
Cope 2 Documentary Preview
Dir. Carl Weston & Sascha Jenkins
2009
15 min.
See a preview of this work in progress on Bronx legend Cope 2 from the team behind the infamous “Video Graff” series.

Writers
Dir. Resistance Films
2004
90 min.
This film tells the story of the Parisian graffiti scene from 1983-2003. The film includes interviews with Henry Chalfant, Futura 2000, Seen UA, Mode 2, JonOne, Bando CTK among many other legendary French writers.

Wednesday, May 20th
7:00pm

Forbidden Rebels
Dir. Forbidden Rebels
1983
29 min.
A documentary on the New York scene made in 1983 featuring Dez aka DJ Kay Slay, Sharp, Delta, Spin and G-Man. With bombed trains for days.

Kroonjuwelen
Dir. Stunnedfilm
2006
76 min.
The Dutch documentary Kroonjuwelen tells the story of one of the oldest and most important graffiti scenes in Europe. Some of the writers featured are Quik from New Yorkand Delta, Shoe, Zap and High.

Wednesday, May 27th
7:00pm
Tunnel Vision
Dir. Reid van Renesse
2003
2 min.
This short film with footage shot in 1983 shows Zephyr, Min One and Revolt painting a wall. Reid van Renesse will be present for the q&a.
 
Spraymasters
Dir. Manfred Kirchheimer
2008
85 min.
Spraymasters follows up on some legendary writers from the 70s and 80s. The film includes Lady Pink, Lee, Futura 2000 and Zephyr and lots and lots of trains. Manfred Kirchheimer will be present for the q&a.