Downtown '81

About Downtown '81

The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.

Downtown '81 (2001) is a comedy music film directed by Edo Bertoglio. It runs 72 minutes and was released in July 2001.

Its themes are artist, art, anarchic comedy, and new york city.

Jean-Michel Basquiat appears as Jean (archive footage), Saul Williams as Jean's Narration (voice), Anna Shroeder as Beatrice, and Debbie Harry as Fairy Godmother. The screenplay is by Glenn O'Brien. It streams on Kino Film Collection in the United States.

Hannah and Her Sisters, New York Stories, and Factory Girl make useful companions to Downtown '81.