“I just got this idea for a Graffiti Gallery,” declares Stephen Wilson, Executive Director of Graffiti Art Programming, as he made the humble shift from working as a prison guard to working on crime prevention through art. The documentary Graffiti Stories, hosted by CBC's Ismaila Alfa, follows some urban “at-risk” youth from various cultural backgrounds as they find legitimacy in their art, whether its graphics, rapping, or dancing. Highlighting Winnipeg’s Graffiti Art Gallery and Studio 393 that take a unique angle of teaching through the four elements of Hip-Hop. While addressing the Art vs vandalism themes, this documentary sets out to be a beacon of hope for those who are immersed in or are aspiring for the urban arts. Graffiti Stories premieres at the Winnipeg Art Gallery March 24, 2014 at 7PM. The film, greenlit into production in the Fall of 2013, will subsequently air exclusively on MTS TV Stories From Home. Under the Prairie Boy Productions banner, the film is aptly directed by Winnipeg’s Jorge Requena and produced by Orlando Braun.

 

Jorge Requena is a filmmaker, musician, photographer, writer, graphic novelist and storyteller currently living in Winnipeg where his creativity has found terrific inspiration. Before completing a BA in film studies, several of his short films were short listed and awarded in Festivals. In 2008, after receiving the CFTPA mentorship award, he focused in the documentary Format. His Documentary “Frostbite” received a grant from the Emerging Filmmakers Fund with OMNI TV and Rogers. He got the idea for Graffiti Stories while working with inner-city media outreach programs at Freeze Frame.

 

 

Orlando Braun is an Award winning Producer known for his cultural involvement in Winnipeg. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Film at the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Fine Arts in Producing from the New York Film Academy in Universal Studios, CA. In New York and Los Angeles he has worked with Industry professionals such as Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Film, Manage-Ment [Garden State], Platinum Studios [Cowboys & Aliens] and Film Independent [Spirit Awards, LA Film Festival]. Orlando was selected for the Telefilm Canada Producers Mentorship in 2012 and is currently working with Merit Motion Pictures.

 

 

 

Graffiti Stories is copyrighted by 6771743 Manitoba Inc. and produced in association with MTS TV Stories From Home, and produced with the participation of Manitoba Film and Music, Government of Manitoba Provincial Tax Credits, and Government of Canada Federal Tax credits.