The Graffiti Artist

Nick is a young graffiti artist or ‘tagger’ living in Seattle. A shy, introverted guy with no friends, he has plenty of time to live out his artistic ambitions. One day, he meets Jesse, another extremely talented tagger. Their friendship evolves into an intensive artistic collaboration. The two young artists combine their diverge styles to create highly-charged, exciting murals. But the happiness they find in their creative partnership is short-lived. Before long, the aesthetic differences which once brought their art to life lead to a fundamental clash of interests. Jesse moves back to Portland, followed by Nick, who is apparently unperturbed by the fact that a warrant for his arrest awaits him. Nick is intercepted by the local police and led away. The stretch in juvenile prison that Nick now faces represents a threat to much more than the means of his artistic expression. Its meditative quality and quiet pace make the film an achingly romantic movie. "The Graffiti Artist" was partly shot in Portland in Oregon, the first state to pass a resolution making imprisonment mandatory for graffiti writers.