Directed by Charlotte Levin and Ava Newman, Being Seen Makes Us Happy brings together graffiti writers Lex, Lola, Jakee and Claw for a conversation about graffiti, identity, recognition and what it means to take up space.

The film looks beyond the finished tags and pieces and focuses on the reasons people keep writing. Lex describes graffiti as the first thing that made her feel like she had real power. For her, it was less about making perfectly clean graffiti and more about doing something for herself and creating a presence in a world where she often felt she had little control.

That need to be seen runs throughout the documentary. The writers talk about putting their names into the city, finding spots where their work will have the most impact and creating something that people cannot easily ignore. Graffiti becomes a way of saying that you are here, even when other parts of life make you feel invisible.

The film also looks at graffiti from a female perspective. One of the central ideas is that women are often told how they should act, where they belong and how much space they are allowed to take up. Graffiti does the opposite: it is literally about taking space. The writers discuss how seeing women represented in graffiti can mean something beyond the individual name on the wall.

Being Seen Makes Us Happy does not avoid the harder parts of the culture either. There are conversations about beef, going over other people’s work, arrests and the risks that come with repeatedly painting illegally. The film also questions the idea of graffiti fame. Recognition can be validating, especially for someone who previously felt overlooked, but it can also become complicated when attention and identity become tied too closely to getting up.

That relationship with graffiti changes over time. The writers reflect on what years of painting have given them, but also what it has taken from them. One speaker talks about incarceration in Australia and how the stress, loss and drama surrounding graffiti made her question the person she had become. The film asks whether the constant need to risk freedom, work and relationships can sometimes point to something deeper that is missing elsewhere in life.

Claw also talks about how graffiti eventually became connected to her work outside the street. What began with painting and making shirts developed into Claw Money, with the city itself becoming part of the brand’s visual language and advertising.

Toward the end, the documentary becomes more reflective. There is still a deep love for graffiti, but also an acceptance that it does not have to remain the most important thing forever. At the same time, the writers speak about being proud to be part of graffiti culture, especially the heritage and lineage of women who continue to add to its history.

Being Seen Makes Us Happy is ultimately about much more than writing a name on a wall. It is about visibility, confidence, belonging, risk and the different reasons people need to leave a mark.

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This is 15-minute video report from Batumi, Georgia. Amet and Saek bоmb the city streets by tags and throw-ups.

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GET LOST Episode 1 follows a three-day trip through San Francisco built around a simple challenge: sleep outside, carry everything in one bag, and paint 10 spots around the city. No hotels, hostels or couches — just a backpack with sleeping gear, paint, camera equipment and clothes.

The trip starts with a heavy backpack and quickly turns into a mix of skating, exploring and looking for places to paint. Along the way, he moves through bridges, bike paths, abandoned industrial areas and forgotten railway sites, often ending up far away from the usual parts of San Francisco most visitors see.

Finding somewhere to sleep becomes part of the adventure. An abandoned building looks promising at first, but he eventually leaves and spends the night beside a deserted bike path after painting nearby. The next morning starts with a German Shepherd standing over him.

By the second day, the trip gets rougher. Miles of walking through industrial areas with little food or water leave him exhausted, while tall grass brings another problem: ticks. After waking up with one attached to his chest, he considers ending the trip but decides to keep moving across the city toward the Pacific Ocean.

The final stretch brings another setback when a high-speed skateboard crash damages his camera and leaves him scraped up just before reaching the coast.

GET LOST Episode 1 is part graffiti video, part travel diary and part stealth-camping experiment — a look at San Francisco through skating, painting and exploring places well outside the normal tourist route.

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Follow graffiti writer Alwet out in the streets of Chicago painting highway spots and catching throw-ups across the city.

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LIVING ON BORROWED TIME follows contemporary artist and graffiti writer TIME as he reflects on life, illness, mental health and his relationship with graffiti.

At 17, TIME was diagnosed with leukemia after months of health problems. What followed was four years of intensive chemotherapy, serious side effects and periods where doctors were unsure whether he would survive. Today, he is six years clear.

The experience changed the way he looks at life. In the film, TIME talks openly about the mental trauma that came with being diagnosed so young, and the importance of speaking about struggles instead of keeping everything inside. He also reflects on the stigma around showing vulnerability within graffiti culture and the need to check in on friends and the people around you.

Graffiti has remained a constant throughout his life. TIME describes it as addictive, rebellious and difficult to walk away from. From tags and walls to trains, the adrenaline and the constant pursuit of getting up continue to play a major part in what keeps him painting.

The documentary also touches on the darker side of that lifestyle, including stealing paint, crime and how easily those habits can become consuming. TIME is clear that eventually these choices can catch up with you.

More than anything, LIVING ON BORROWED TIME is about perspective. After facing the possibility of dying at a young age, TIME says he now feels there is no point wasting the one life you have. The goal is to keep creating, keep moving and leave something behind — both through graffiti and through the person you are outside of it.

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Postcard sent in from graffiti writer Toske. Watch him paint a throw-up on a raw concrete wall in Istanbul.

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A night out in Oakland with graffiti writer Gkode.

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This video is a short film made by Tokyo’s writer ALEQS, showing the actual dopeness of Taiwan’s graffiti scene, which is one of the first country in Asia to widely introduce rappel graffiti.
All original soundtracks by DADDY VEDA.
Initially sold with a zine and marker set, few hardcopies still can be found in Japan and Taiwan’s graffiti shops.

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A short film by street culture representatives from Baku, Azerbaijan, featuring artists from Istanbul, Warsaw, and Tbilisi. The film uses emulsion and rollers primarily, recalling the ancient traditions of rolapping.

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Postcard showing a mix of daytime chill spots and metro actions in The UK. Thanks to AS crew, ER, PPP, NEWOS and features.

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