When this project first came to us, I was so excited. I had just seen “Exit Through the Giftshop” (thank you free movies in the botanic gardens, Wellington!) and that had gotten me thinking about street art in general, and in New Zealand.
After Karl got in touch with me about his project, I started seeing grafitti everywhere, and decided to take a few pictures on my walk from home to work one day:
Which got me thinking… Who’s making this art? What’s it about? Why are they doing it?
Cinzah and Karl, the masterminds behind Dreg’s, are crowdfunding to gather the final dosh they need for postproduction costs to answer those questions. They want to shed some light on street art scene in New Zealand as a legitimate form of expression, but also look into the motivation and passion of the artists behind the spray paint.
Karl is the film maker by trade and has worked on films like Spartacus and Yogi Bear. He’s also the organiser extraordinaire, running fundraisers to gain momentum around the project and keeping in close contact with us in the office (oh haiii Karl!). Cinzah is the artist, and connection into the street scene. But, really, it’s moving beyond just connecting. It’s a documentary on the people behind the art, why they do what they do, and the social pressures they are under, and creating a community around it.
I think this project struck such a chord with me because street art seems to be evolving into a full blown movement, led by artists all over the world (who hasn’t heard of Banksy these days?). That and the fact that Karl and Cinzah are the underdog. They’ve got this idea, all the talent in the world, and they want to make a film that challenges some of the perceptions out there currently.
Just after their project went live, Cinzah got called to do an interview for Nightline about the movie which you can watch here: http://www.3news.co.nz/Street-
Pledge! Share their link on! Help these guys make the most amazing film they can, in return for some pretty nifty rewards. They’ve got 5 more days to make it happen!
