"Being Seen Makes Us Happy" - DOCNYC: A Feminist Look at NYC’s Graffiti Underground

 

(Picture by Peak VIC, 2018)

Jakee Street bombing

"We [Peak VIC & I] were in Bushwick catching tags and fills."

DOCNYC: A Feminist Look at NYC’s Graffiti Underground — “Being Seen Makes Us Happy”

The Directors: Charlotte Levin and Ava Newman are New York City–based filmmakers.

Screening Information:
Catch Being Seen Makes Us Happy at DOC NYC:

• In-Person Premiere: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 8:30 PM — IFC Center, NYC

• Second Screening: Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM — Village East by Angelika

• Online Viewing Window: November 12 – November 30, 2025

(Picture by Lola, 2023) 

This was painted on a gate on Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn--the neighborhood Lola grew up in. 

"Painting alone is honestly more zenful than you think," adds Lola. " It's like your first psychedelic trip...sirens, cars, whistles, and conversations...everything zooms in and out at the same time."

(Picture by @bronx_antics on Instagram, 2021)

Edo and Lex Welcome You to The Bronx Billboard

"A funny story about this billboard— this photo is of the second time we did it. The first time we went armed to the teeth (or so we thought) with spraypaint, and in the end, compared to the size of the billboard, we painted something completely minuscule. So we went back with bucket paint and the longest roller poles we could find and painted this end to end. It took us all night, we didn’t have great pole control (lol) (which is aesthetically obvious), and we were exhausted by the end.

We finished as the sun was coming up, and I will never forget how proud we felt— not only for accomplishing something so physically demanding, but for doing a spot that was famous throughout the city and sat empty forever. It was a completely original spot, and people reacted positively shocked seeing it get done, and seeing it get done by US. Quite frankly, Edo and I were Bronx Kings at that time; it was only right that we would inaugurate that. Who else but us?

Graffiti has evolved a lot in these past ten years (I can’t believe that’s how long it’s been running!) and the billboard is evidence of that— other Bronx kids came with taller ladders and graffitied all over us, newer writers (not from the Bronx) have come and repelled the top of it, and mostly the billboard kind of looks like a hot mess now. This photo is closer to how I like to remember it, when it was just for The Bronx, by The Bronx. This is our town! EDO AND LEX WELCOME YOU! BX BOROUGH! Uptown forever!!!!"

Director Statement:

Charlotte Levin and Ava Newman are New York City-based filmmakers. 

Charlotte Levin and Ava Newman are New York City-based filmmakers. Here's what they had to say about why they made Being Seen Makes Us Happy.

"As young women coming up in the city, we noticed something missing in the graffiti film scene — our perspective. So we picked up the camera and claimed the space ourselves. Being Seen Makes Us Happy dives into the underground world of graffiti writers, not just as artists but as real people navigating one of New York’s most misunderstood cultures.

We put the spotlight on female graffiti writers — voices too often left out of the conversation. Their stories reveal an emotional and psychological side of the scene that rarely makes it to the screen. Our goal wasn’t to glorify graffiti, but to unpack it — to ask why these artists take the risks they do, how tagging walls becomes tied to identity, and what it really means to claim public space through art.

At its core, this film pushes a bigger question: Is graffiti just rebellion, or is it resistance — a necessary form of self-expression in a city that doesn’t always make room for you? For women especially, that question hits different. Through raw interviews and immersive visuals, Being Seen Makes Us Happy invites audiences to look past the surface and see graffiti for what it really is — not just paint on a wall, but a declaration of existence."

(Learn more at DOCNYC)