Downtown '81

The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.

• Edo BertoglioDirector
• Glenn O'BrienWriter
• Vincent GalloOriginal Music Composer

• Jean-Michel BasquiatJean (archive footage)
• Saul WilliamsJean's Narration (voice)
• Anna ShroederBeatrice
• Debbie HarryFairy Godmother
• Giorgio GiomelskyLandlord
• Coati MundiSelf
• Debi MazarPeppermint Lounge Dancer
• George QuinonesGraffiti Artist
• Walter StedingSelf
• Steven BrownSelf - Vocals, Tuxedomoon
• Eszter BalintSelf
• Kid CreoleSelf - Vocals and Guitar, Kid Creole & The Coconuts