Film Threat archive logo

FILM THREAT’S “EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP” CONTEST

By Mark Bell | December 9, 2010

ENTER TO WIN an EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP prize pack! We’ve got three Exit Through the Gift Shop prize packs to give away.

Prize Includes:

  • Exit Through the Gift Shop DVD
  • Limited Edition “Exit Through the Gift Shop” Theatrical Poster

So how do you win one? First off, you have to be a resident of the United States. Secondly, your answer to the following question must be included in the comments below AND you must use your real email (how else can we contact you to get your prize to you). Finally, just answer this question:

Who is Banksy?

Top three best answers, in my opinion, win a prize pack. So what kind of answer am I looking for? Be creative. You could give a name, you could give a description, just back it up with some sort of theory. For example: “Banksy is Lady GaGa, and I know this because a crazy homeless man by the name of Hortense told me he saw Banksy-GaGa drawing a chalk outline of a rat with a torpedo on the side of the local Walgreens.” Contest ends at midnight, Sunday, December 12, 2010 and, again, top three answers in the comments win a prize pack. Good luck, and HAVE FUN!


Exit Through the Gift Shop available now on iTunes and VOD!

Become a fan on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/ExitThroughTheGiftShopContest
Buy on iTunes at http://bit.ly/BanksyiTunes

DVD Available on December 14th, Pre-Order at http://amzn.to/i4H0JW

This is the inside story of Street Art – a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world’s most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner with wildly unexpected results.

One of the most provocative films about art ever made, Exit Through the Gift Shop is a fascinating study of low-level criminality, comradeship and incompetence. By turns shocking, hilarious and absurd, this is an enthralling modern-day fairytale… with bolt cutters/

Watch the trailer:

Leave a Reply to Loretta Paraguassu Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Doctor says:

    Cool, thanks a bunch – this movie rocks! Im stoked!!!

  2. Mark Bell says:

    I’ll drop a line to the prizing folks, but check your Spam or Junk folder too.

  3. Doctor says:

    Awesome, but alas I have not recieved an email ( madape69@hotmail.com ) did I not list the email right? You guys are great and I apologize for this snafu, do you think I should contact anyone else?

  4. Mark Bell says:

    Banksy won…

    …but seriously, the three winners should’ve been contacted by the prizing folks by now… and you ARE one of them, Doctor, so… have you not heard from anybody?

  5. Doctor says:

    So who won???

  6. Mark Bell says:

    Contest is closed; winners will be contacted via email. Thanks everyone for participating, and making this one a hard contest to judge.

  7. Michelle says:

    Banksy is the man whom my mother has come to hate. The man my professors despise, critique, tear apart and over analyze. He is “that ridiculous graffiti vandal who thinks he can just write on people’s walls” behind the “loud political statements and over sized over opinionated pieces” that stir the controversial dialogue between my friends’ drunken conversations.

    Banksy has found a way to piss off every individual in my life who has come in contact with his work; to create that kind of emotion in someone through what you’re capable of conjuring up with paint and a pinch irony on the fractured surface of an urban canvas, well that just clearly illustrates that Banksy is a man who places a magnifying glass on issues we choose to ignore; a “sarcastic bastard” who makes us question the bland world we live in, has then taken it, and declared it his personal canvas- he will continue doing with it what he damn well pleases, pissed off commentators who are too scared to voice their own opinions about what actually matters, or not.

    (Thank you Banksy for inspiring me to step up and voice the opinions society made me too scared to state)

  8. Jason Kurzer says:

    Banksy is an artist for those of us who don’t understand art. And, for those us who think we do understand art.

  9. Amy R Handler says:

    Yikes, I wasn’t kidding when I made the Bansky-VOINA connection above!
    Check out this brand new link:
    http://www.thecitrusreport.com/2010/headlines/banksy-sends-support-for-legal-defense-of-voina-with-print-release/

  10. Amy R Handler says:

    There’s something so enticing, romantic and oh so manipulative about artists who hide their identities. In some ways the art—whether good or bad—is irrelevant compared to its unknown creator. It’s that whole Wizard of Oz thing all over again.

  11. filmgurl says:

    Neat contest! I think “Banksy” represents all of the undiscovered artists in the world, those who are dedicated to their art everyday. “Banksy” shows the possibilities of an artist being discovered and getting known. The ironic thing about it is that no one quite knows who “Banksy” is, just as there are many great artists out in the world who remain undiscovered. Just my thoughts! 🙂

  12. Doctor says:

    He was born on the banks of The Yangtze river swathed in a blanket of mystery and raised by a troupe of hairless Mexican Circus Gypsies known as the “Hampsters Furieux” working in the Merch counter of the Freakshow as a Pygmy Frenchman all the while moonlighting as an Israeli combat consultant with a penchant for Interior Design an an unquenchable appetite for fine Scotch and research in Male pattern baldness. After overcoming his evil Guru Aksakov at the ancient psychokinesis technique of Uhej baisan al he founded the school of Shaolin while finishing up his U.S. Air Force-sponsored research report Teleportation Physics Study under the alias of the physicist-author Eric Davis, PhD. During a particularly violent bout with his time temporal paradoxing nemesis/lover Meg whitman he stumbled upon the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit in which he fell into a black hole simultaneously reemerging speaking Sanskrit wearing Rasputin’s ring claiming to be a Roosevelt. He’s died six times spawned the Titans, Chuck Norris, Godzilla and will be reborn as someone you love.

  13. bocca del mostro says:

    I can’t tell you who he is directly, but I can tell you who he isn’t- and thereby tell you more perhaps than I should, and still elucidate.
    Banksy isn’t sitting still. He isn’t paying attention to rules/norms/random meaningless barriers. Banksy isn’t fiddling or piddling while Rome burns. He isn’t sad to see walls defaced- because after all what is a wall but a barrier to other humans? He isn’t willing to allow the thieves of others art make claim to his and call it an Ace Christmas. In any case.. like any man: who he is doesn’t matter, it’s what he does…

  14. Marc says:

    Banksy is a symbol, an idea, a representation of the inner spirit that lies inside all of us. The true feelings and opinions that we don’t share because of fear of what others will say. The man that carrys out these acts of “vandalism” or “graffiti” is only a medium.

  15. Elias Grasso says:

    Bansky is just that guy who made a better Paris Hilton album.

  16. Christopher Altenburg says:

    I have 2 very separate suggestions about who BANKSY is…

    #1. Banksy is S**T. One of biggest issues effecting the way that humans perceive self worth stems from the fact that most people choose to ask their children about what they want to “do” as opposed to what type of people they want to be. “What do you want to be?” is more of an inquiry about profession than anything else. What we “do” should be less about what we get monetarily compensated for and more about our choices, which are what truly define our characters. One of the purest ways to judge someone is on their intentions. Because of his adoption of such a reclusive image, we can only base who BANSKY “is” off of what we know that he’s created. How effective his intentions come through are merely assumed by us viewers and can only be truly validated by the guy who makes the work. I belief that art is like human waste. There’s an intangible concept that exists and the “piece of art” created is just a physical manifestation and realization of the much more important concepts and ideas behind it. “Art” is something that needs to be extracted from the person creating it. You eat food and the waste is released. The paintings are the by-product and are only reborn intangibly through being experienced, but the pieces themselves are defecated out and BANKSY’s s**t just happens to be smeared all over public property. He’s what he’s made/what he’s birthed/what he’s grunted out. The man behind the persona could never compare to what he’s made, so he’s created a figure larger than himself. I don’t know who the man “is”, but he’s probably as disappointing and goofy as any human. “BANKSY” the entity, however, is a ghost, running around and spraying blasts of ectoplasm out of his a*s onto brick and mortar. By staying hidden, it allows his fans to feel like their own thoughts seaped out in their sleep and came to life somewhere else on the planet. As an “artist” I believe he’s honed his skills to a point where he has become extremely effective at relaying his image. Sharp and on-point. As a person, he’s likely falling short, but he’s doing a good job of showing his perspectives, his best version of himself, and asking others to question everything from laws to the definition of righteousness. As “BANKSY” the character?… he’s just some guys steamy dump in the bathroom of an all-you-can eat buffet so that he can go back for seconds.

    #2. He’s simultaneously both the most & least successful hired gun/marketing consultant of all time. He keeps putting up finely crafted campaigns for huge companies like McDonalds and Disney, viewed by millions, but some crazy bastard keeps vandalizing everything.

  17. joel Schomberg says:

    I am Bansky!

  18. Kendall says:

    Banksy is a guy that probably regrets ever putting his name next to his work.

  19. Laurel says:

    Who is Banksy? I’m not saying he is Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

    I’m not going to tell you Banksy was a member of the royal family expunged because he couldn’t deal with queen mum constantly chiding him to “color within the lines dear Fairbanks.”

    Maybe it’s better not to tell who Banksy is because I don’t think most people could handle who Banksy really is. (nah, he’s really Sean Connery!)

  20. R says:

    Banksy is…everyone.

  21. Ian says:

    Banksy is a legend…

  22. Colby says:

    Banksy is obviously Fabio. After I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter dropped him, he took up art in his spare time. He wears the hoodie in the film to hide his monsterous pecs and golden locks of hair.

  23. Marcus Stevenson says:

    Banksy is a robot. just listen to his voice.

  24. Brian Sant says:

    I believe that the infamous Banksy is really Shepherd Fairey. As a street artist admirer and a street artist my self I have noticed that if you ever see a Banksy original not far away will be at least one Icon Obey Giant Face or other Andre the Giant themed street art. Second in the movie you will see that you can see neither of their faces when they are together so it could be said that one of them is the real Banksy/Fairey and the other is a stand in decoy. Third when Banksy makes his way to LA he is told by a friend (Fairey) that Mr. Brainwash will show him around the town, this brings up the question, ‘why didn’t Fairey offer to take him?’. All of these points add up to one thing: Banksy=Fairey.

  25. Luis says:

    Banksy=Guetta
    Guetta=Banksy

  26. Philippa Bergmann says:

    Banksy is Eyesaurus Rex.

  27. bryce says:

    He is Bansky… and he is my father. And my mother… my brother… my friend. He is you… and me. He is all of us.

  28. Joe says:

    Banksy is an absolute force of nature. His work and style are like a tidal wave to a serene sea, hitting the scene with precision. The man’s work is unreal, inventive, and socially aware. The man transcends street art.

  29. jon says:

    Banksy is………. my love child.

    I can back this up with the empty bottle of cinzano ( I still have & use as a candle stick/ bookend ) and the bristolian earth warrior I had a brief dalliance with (whilst drunk on said cinzano) back in the era of love in the late 70s.

    She was extremely artist too you see, and would often be found around the council house with nail polish and a can of Elnett hair lacquer spreading her good message…… she disappeared for a short while retruning with a baby wearing a black hoody who had a strange love of tearing out amazing pictures from his colouring in book. crazy days !!!

  30. Regina R. says:

    Banksy is a waste of human sperm selfless sarcastic manipilative cheating bipolar disturber fantastic bastard with a litle a bit of political and ironic sense… I’ll stop for now because no man on earth deserves more than a 41 word-description.

  31. Cai says:

    Banksy is just some dude who likes to make his mark on buildings and toy with people’s perspectives on consumerism. Not to mention ironically making money legally from breaking the law.

  32. Michael Lye says:

    Banksy is a ICONIC perceptive uncompromisingly vocal and fearless commentator of society’s fallibles and foilbles – he is the KING of free-speech who has produced a prodigious amount of thought-provoking works of art – some of which have been ‘censored’ or destroyed by public institutions. Banksy is the anti-thesis of silence. His works ‘speak’ loud and deafeningly.

  33. Ronnie says:

    Banksy is Thomas Pynchon (who we all know is the real Unabomber).

  34. Arik says:

    Banksy is Tyler Durden, Kaiser Soze, and Jim Morrison extracted, genetically manipulated, refined, messed up, and with hindsight + foresight. He’s exactly the person our culture needs and doesn’t usually get.

    Of course, he’s actually Tracy Morgan on his off days from shooting 30 Rock.

  35. Amy R Handler says:

    Bansky’s Voina in disguise.

  36. Loretta Paraguassu says:

    Banksy is a spirit who has come down to earth to straighten out the heads of earthlings who can’t seem to understand that the messages they are getting in the dark of the night are hints on how to make things better…better…better.

  37. Jordan Brady says:

    Banksy is the Robin Hood of Anti-Consumerism and corporate marketing, robbing public space away from global advertisers, and giving it back to the citizens in the form of his art.

    Banksy is a paradox, because he has become his own “brand.”

    Banksy is the Batman of Art.

  38. Rebecca Sansom says:

    Banksy is my brother, Gilbert. I know this because when asked if he is Banksy, Gilbert said “No, who’s that?”. My brother is an awful liar.

  39. Peter Franklin says:

    Banksy is the shrewdly rebelious teen we all secretly wish we had been.

  40. Nick Jeffrey says:

    Banksy is Andy Kaufman. Except on the weekends when he’s Bob Zmuda. How else do you explain Banksy’s undying love for Hulk Hogan?

  41. David Bowlds says:

    Banksy is obviously the bastard love child of Gilbert and George. I can’t say for certain but I believe George carried Banksy but Gilbert was the sperm donor. There was that period of time in the early 80s when George was “taking some time for himself” and the art world was a blaze with rumors that he had shacked up with Jeff Koonz (as if!!). Clearly George had to lie low in order to bring Percival Banks (aka Banksy) into the world without all the attention.

  42. L. Hunter says:

    Banksy is President Obama. This presidency is just one big piece of performance art, as evidenced by Banksy/Barak’s appearance on “Mythbusters”. As Hunter S. Thompson once said in reference to the rise of technology, “They invented the perfect tool for the New Dumb. They can now flourish in a land of serious stupidity and greed. They can infest the planet with every sick a–hole you can dream of and make him sound sane. Now, any cheap, lying f— can become President of the United States and sound good. Every mindless little screwhead can pour his sickest thoughts into this new machinery, twist it a degree out of normal, and send it back out as wisdom. You think we have arrived in the Land of the Living Dead. No, Ralph. We have only just begun!” Banksy is a manifestation of this prophesy, living his art in the most conspicuous position in the world while maintaining a degree of anonymity that can only be achieved through conspiracy.

  43. Logan Ford says:

    Banksy is the bastard son of Prince Charles and the true heir to the throne of England. He was left in the sewers to be raised by rats as a child, hence the rodent motif. He also has grand plans for a Rodent New World Order using bank notes with Princess Di’s face on them as currency. He has taken to making “high art” to finance said revolution and fulfill his destiny as the Rat King of England.

Join our Film Threat Newsletter

Newsletter Icon