With his groundbreaking publication of Maus, Art Spiegelman elevated the graphic novel to a serious art form that reckoned with themes of generational trauma and identity. Directors Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin track Spiegelman’s career from the 1960s when he co-created Wacky Packages trading cards, through to his co-founding of underground comics Raw and Arcade. Candid interviews and archival footage combine to offer a portrait of an artist whose provocative work has influenced a new generation of writers. Themes of fascism and extremism are common threads in Spiegelman’s oeuvre and the recent ban of Maus in some American schools illustrate how these themes are equally relevant today.

Metropolis Grand Jury Prize, DOCNYC 2024
Official Selection, Calgary Underground Film Festival