OBEY THE GIANT – the short film based on Shepard Fairey‘s life – is the ambitious work of a 22-year-old RISD film student, Julian Marshall. Marshall gained traction with a successful Kickstarter campaign that funded the making of the film earlier this year. OBEY THE GIANT has received the approval of Fairey himself which is rare in these cases.
A brief synopsis is provided on the official website for the film – “OBEY THE GIANT is the first narrative film about the early life of Shepard Fairey and the origin of his OBEY GIANT street art campaign. Based on the true story of Shepard Fairey’s first act of street art, OBEY THE GIANT tells the story of a young skate punk challenging a big-city mayor and the powers-that-be at art school. Frustrated by his inability to gain respect within the confines of art school Shepard sets out to gain notoriety and acclaim by targeting the most powerful man in Providence, former Mayor Buddy Cianci. Risking expulsion and jail time Shepard plasters Andre the Giant’s face over the image of Cianci on a campaign billboard. As word of Shepard’s prank gets out, Shepard learns that art is a weapon and attention is both a blessing and a curse”.
by SeanM
