Banksy and the Stolen Girl

Strange as it may seem, an anonymous emergency door in a concert hall can tell the story of a community. With the addition of a simple stencil, it can even become the symbol of a nation. But in our image-based society, even an icon has a market value, and can stimulate evil interests. On the night of 26 January 2019 in Paris, three men steal the emergency exit door of the Bataclan, on which a few months earlier the renowned street artist Banksy had painted a grieving woman in memory of the victims of the November 2015 terrorist attacks. She will be known as the Sad Girl. News of the theft ends up in the world's media, arousing worldwide indignation. Despite the fact that it is an illegal work of art, the French and Italian police investigate to recover it. One of the many paradoxes of this story. A year after the theft, the door is found 1,500 kilometres away from Paris, hidden in the attic of a country house in a small town in central Italy. But after its recovery, this iconic piece of art is at the centre of a legal dispute: who’s the legal owner of Banksy's Sad Girl? We will tell this story through the exclusive testimony of investigators and those responsible for the theft, the contribution of street art and copyright experts, combining archive material and original footage in a documentary that reflects the contradictions of street art, following the tormented journey of Banksy's most symbolic work.

Official Selection at Firenze Archeofilm Festival 20024 – Special Screening at Nuart Festival  2024 in Aberdeen