Art by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Diebenkorn along with artists Duncan Hannah, Peter McGough, are featured in Make Me Famous, a documentary on painter Edward Brezinski and his quest for fame.
The documentary examines the life and work of Brezinski, who worked alongside Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat but never achieved their level of stardom.
Also featured in the documentary are James Romberger, Marguerite Van Cook, David McDermott, Eric Bogosian, Richard Hambleton, Marcus Leatherdale, Patti Astor, Kenny Scharf, Annina Nosei, Claudia Summers, and Walter Robinson.
Directed by Brian Vincent, Make Me Famous opens in theaters with a release date of June 22nd, 2023.
Edward Brezinski worked alongside Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the Lower East Side art scene, but never reached the same level of success as his contemporaries. Make Me Famous uncovers why such a well-connected yet peculiar painter never made it, despite being so maniacally focused in his quest for fame.
What begins as an investigation into Brezinski’s legacy and mysterious disappearance becomes a sharp, witty portrait of NYC’s 1980s downtown art scene. Gallery owners and fellow artists dish on insider gossip, name drop, and contradict each other in telling the story, resulting in an irresistible snapshot of an unknown artist that captures the spirit of an iconic era.
“I could relate to Edward’s struggle because I’m an actor and I’ve been in a lot of things over the years, but I’m not famous,” says director Brian Vincent. “The thing that kept me going was that I could see how good he was and I wanted to know why he didn’t get famous. I wanted to tell his story and bring out all these other characters of the Lower East Side so we could tell the story of the rise and fall parallel to his career.”
Watch the trailer for Make Me Famous.
Theatrical Openings – w/ Live Q&As
June 22nd – NYC (The Roxy, New Plaza Cinema)
June 26th – NYC (Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan)
July 10th – LA (Laemmle Theaters – Claremont, Glendale, Monica)