The 5th annual Ocean City Film Festival (OCFF) is virtual this year due
to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's all online, running from March 4 to 11.
OCFF 2021 has a collection of short films and features, numbering about
80 titles total. Every night, there will be a feature that will be
broadcast online. Some will be one-time screenings, meaning they can't
be streamed 24/7 like the others. They can only be seen once and at that
specific time or you miss it. This film is a one-time screening. It has to be screened live, so if you're not
there for the live event, you will miss it.
If you saw the Oscar-nominated film Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), which was up for Best Documentary Feature at the 83rd Academy Awards, then this film is like a sequel. Ten years ago, that film introduced the street artist or graffiti artist, known as Banksy. In addition to being a sequel, this film is also a bit of an inverse of Exit Through the Gift Shop. That 2010 flick was about getting to know someone or the mystery of someone's identity who ostensibly puts himself more in the public view or is seemingly more egotistical. This film is instead about getting to know someone or the mystery of someone's identity who avoids being in public view or isn't egotistical.
The directors here start with an incident in 2018 where a painting called "Girl with Balloon" by Banksy was being auctioned at Sotheby's in London, England. A stunt or prank occurred at that auction that made a lot of headlines. Nobody knows how or why the prank happened. Most agree that Banksy orchestrated the prank himself, but that can't be confirmed because Banksy is a person whom has never been identified in the press or to the public at large. Apparently, some people know who he is, but they keep his identity a secret from the masses. As someone comments, he's famous but invisible. His anonymity is part of his artistry.
There are plenty of artists who wish they were as famous or had any fame but they never will. A lot of artists wouldn't normally choose anonymity if their work were as popular as Banksy who is now a world-wide phenomenon. There's a question if Banksy's anonymity is what fuels his popularity or what fuels the power of his messaging. There are artists like Terrence Malick who refuse to do press or media interviews, but he's not actively hiding his identity. That's not what Banksy is doing. Even in Exit Through the Gift Shop, a film that Banksy directed and appears in, he obscures his identity like he's a whistleblower or in witness protection.
The reason he does so might be to avoid legal action. Banksy's art is mainly doing graffiti on the walls of buildings or sometimes staging things on the streets. Some argue that what he's doing is vandalism and could be prosecuted as property damage. Staying anonymous possible protects Banksy from being criminally charged, but now, it seems as if he's doing so as merely a gimmick that fans now advocate he maintains. However, there are obviously a number of people who would like to know who he really is. The film follows several people who think they have figured out who Banksy is. We get three possibilities and it's a bit thrilling in the search.
Banksy Most Wanted.
Running Time: 82 minutes.
Wednesday, March 10 at 7 PM.
Access the film only on March 10 here.
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