Had the good fortune today to see a preview screening of Dark Progressivism, a film about the checkered history of LA graffiti that officially premieres next Friday at the Newport Beach Film Festival—Thanks to Cindy Schwarzstein of Cartwheel Art and Ash Chan of the Container Yard for making it possible! Told through first-hand accounts of a who’s who list of Los Angeles graffiti artists, one of the most poignant and representative accounts for me was Alex “Defer” Kizu recounting his dark past, shot twice—and flat-lined several times—refining his “handstyle” typographic skills into what Gallery 446 calls “lyrical and beautiful.” The photo at the top is an example of Defer’s work on the gates of the Container Yard. Below that are Dark Progressivism director Rodrigo Ribera being interviewed by Juxtapoz co-founder Greg Escalante, and producer James Yi introducing the film.