Educational Media Reviews Online

The art of graffiti explored in the documentary Street Heroines highlights the work of women in what has traditionally been a male-dominated endeavor. Filmmaker Alexandra Henry gives voice to the artists in her film by having her subjects speak directly to the audience - without contextualizing voiceover or an interviewer’s questions. It is their accounts that provide the fabric of the narrative of the film. We see them at work in the streets, sitting in their studios, exploring the cities where they make art in the public sphere. The history and political landscape of the art movement and the cities where these women live (New York City, Quito, Mexico City and Sao Paulo) are brought to life through the stories of the subjects of numerous street artists and also graffiti artist photographer Martha Cooper who is known for chronicling their craft.

From the roots of graffiti with Lady Pink to the legitimizing of street art with the hip hop generation, the structure of the film paints the history of street art through these women’s stories with a catchy dynamic score. The visual imagery - both of the art and of the cities themselves - is beautifully captured and edited by director/producer Henry, co-cinematographer Diana Eliazov and co-editor Simone Cassas. Henry creates a comprehensive script which flows organically from place to place and artist to artist, using only the interview material and vérité footage she has captured. First, they follow artist TooFly from New York City to Ecuador, where she establishes the WARMI festival with women street artists from all over the world.

Expanding on the understanding of street art, the filmmaker then looks at the world of tagging and legally sanctioned murals in Mexico City. The main subject in Mexico City is seen in shadow and from behind during her interview and as she paints. She subsumes her ego for the art - not wishing to “tag” herself or promote a brand or government agenda, but only to share her art with the public. She explains the reasoning behind not showing her face: “it’s not about me. The work is just really focused on creating something by and for the community.”

The film then takes us to Brazil with pichação (a very specific style of graffiti writing, political in nature) which lives alongside mural street art. The artists interviewed introduce us to the politics of the country and how their work challenges those politics (through legal transgression as well as artistic representation).

Throughout the film Henry deftly touches on issues of politics, art and commercialization without being explicit or didactic. When TooFly mentions her experience with tagging at Five Pointz it is just a passing comment. For those who know the iconic building, it harkens back to the ephemerality of the art form which is elucidated by Lady Pink and others in the film. The industrial building in Long Island City, New York known for its graffiti art and appreciated around the world was destroyed and later the site of a multi-million-dollar condominium complex. Henry could have found a way to include that element, but her film lets the art speak for the women and its own history without unnecessary edification. For those in the know, the passing mention is a nice nod to many of the issues raised but it is not explored further in the film - the documentary simply provides the seeds where more discussion can flourish. One of her artist subjects remarks, “Bringing work to people where they are is a powerful thing.” Street Heroines brings the work and ideas of these women to the audience and gives the audience the chance to unpack and respond to them.

Awards:
Portland Film Festival, Best Documentary Jury Award

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