ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
After a mysterious & renowned graffiti tag called SAMO© propelled artist Jean-Michel Basquiat to stardom, his creative other half was left behind. This is Al Diaz’s story.
SYNOPSIS
From 1979-1980, best friends Jean Michel Basquiat & Albert Diaz dominated the graffiti scene in New York City, secretly creating the most iconic graffiti tag of all time:
SAMO.
It was an experiment in hype. A bold statement against capitalism.
One evening, while being interviewed on live public access television, Basquiat declared himself SAMO. Before the program ended, he dropped one final sentence on an awe struck crowd: “SAMO is Dead.”
While this declaration fortified Basquiat’s path towards fame, his partner-in-crime became the forgotten half of an artistic legacy.
Until now.
Al Diaz’s story begins in his Brooklyn studio—a refuge that spans forty incredible years of art, human trauma, and survival. Through studio interviews, rare archive footage, and narrative reenactments, we are taken through a roadmap of an artist whose dignity is embodied by the life he has lived and the art he continues to make.
Our documentary showcases four chapters in Al Diaz’s life: his pre-teen origins in graffiti under his mentor, Flint Gennari; his turbulent friendship with a pre-fame Basquiat; Al’s struggles with heroin addiction and homelessness in San Francisco after Basquiat’s death; and the reemergence of a man who was given a second chance.
With deep precision, Al Diaz unravels the socio-political aspects of SAMO’s new awakening in modern times. He candidly describes the mistakes our society has not yet learned from the 1980s. How art is a necessity for the unrepresented, women, and transgender artists. “The subway,” Al says while completing an installation, represents “the underground that society does not want to address.”
We end the documentary on the same note we began with: art.
This is NOTHING LESS THAN WILD—a documentary for those who dare.
PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature
DIRECTOR Stefano Da Frè, Laura Pellegrini
PRODUCER Stefano Da Frè, Laura Pellegrini
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Al Diaz
co-producer Julia Bolt
WEBSITE rossofilmsinternational.com
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