Press
100% FRESH Tomatometer Score
96% FRESH Audience Score
Hollywood Reporter
“Vincent’s film is a trove of thrilling interviews with survivors of a harrowing period.”
ARTFORUM
"brilliantly digressive structure for a feature-length movie...remarkably loving and deeply empathetic conjuring for which Vincent should be commended, the conceit of this picture, what has indeed sold it so successfully to audiences, is how its protagonist is ultimately a surrogate, a blank upon which we can project the full spectrum of desire and dread that circulates through creative ambition like the lifeblood of culture” —Carlo McCormick, ARTFORUM
Air Mail
“a poignant, compelling, and haunting apparition of lost bohemia. That it does this without undue sentimentalizing or nostalgifying is an adept accomplishment”
The Guardian
“If All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the recent documentary featuring photographer Nan Goldin, has whetted your appetite for the scuzzy glory days of Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 1970s and 80s, then this documentary about Edward Brezinski, another artist kicking around the Bowery at the time, will quench that thirst.”
Film Threat
“you’ll get the sense of the thrill it was to be a struggling artist, and then you’ll get a real sense of the struggle.” 8/10 Movie Score
IndieWire
"scrappy iconoclasts pushing the boundaries of respectability in art and storytelling.”
ArtNet News
“takes Brezinski as a lens through which to explore the era, and its transformation from a hotbed for creativity with a bustling nightlife to a thriving commercial market for art. It also questions what factors let some artists break through"
Eye for Film (review)
“director Brian Vincent captures a side of that celebrated scene never seen before, putting all the rest in context and exploring the nature of fame from an unusual perspective…will hold your attention throughout. It’s a must for art lovers with an interest in the period, and the lively story, developing even as the film is being put together, gives it far wider appeal.” 4 out of 5 Stars —Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
DAZED and CONFUSED
"Blows open the '80s New York art scene...an alternative portrait of the scene at large: one where Basquiat, Haring et al mill around in the background of archive footage rather than the foreground, and where stories of shoddy makeshift galleries, “starving artists,” and wild nights out at Club 57 and Max’s Kansas City are told through new and funny perspectives." —Flossie Skelton, Dazed and Confused
AnOther Magazine
“a dazzling cast of characters...the film seamlessly blends brilliant bits of banter, outrageous scandals and remembrance of things past, then tops it off with the question, “Did Edward Brezinski fake his death to drive up the price of his paintings?”
—Miss Rosen, AnOther Magazine
HERO Magazine
"a time for the expressive rebels. Make Me Famous hones in on the story of starving artists, queer spaces and avant-garde possibilities." —J.L. Sirisuk, Hero Magazine
Eye for Film (feature)
“Just when you think you’ve seen every conceivable documentary about the 1980s New York art scene, along comes something with a whole different perspective.”—Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film
FilmInk Australia
"a documentary about artist Edward Brezinski, who was a contemporary of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Richard Hambleton in New York's Lower East Side, but unlike them and various others, he never quite cracked the big time, or did he?" —Dov Kornits, FilmInk
Scenestr Australia
"Perhaps, arguably one of Brezinski’s greatest works of art was his death. Brezinski turned into a profound and prolific movement and topic of conversation that has lasted some 30 odd years. Crazy genius, or underappreciated buffoon?"
Everything Is Interesting
“thrilling and poignant, reminding us of the lasting impact we can have on people, even if we don’t know it at the time.
In restoring Brezinski to the canon — in positioning him alongside towering figures like Haring and Basquiat — the documentary might just wind up doing what the desperate exclamation in its title asks for.”
The Sunday Times - London
"Brezinski's story does give us a pungent, deglamourised tour of that downtown New York scene."
3/5 stars—Edward Porter, Sunday Times
The New York Times
The Return of the Shadowman
“Brian Vincent Kelly, the executor of the Hambleton estate, whose documentary “Make Me Famous” about another underrecognized ’80s artist, the painter Edward Brezinski, opened this month, has no issue with the copied shadow figures. In fact, when he noticed one near the West Side Highway he thought it was a “lovely homage.” He helped care for Hambleton in his last years and, with his wife, Heather Spore Kelly, helped him put up a last show in Midtown. “This work is on the street, not for sale and it’s getting people to talk about Richard Hambleton again, who wanted to be remembered,” he said.” —Bob Morris, NYTimes
Vague Visages
"a perceptive film about Reagan-era business strategies that elevated one group of creative gamblers and led others to their graves."—Q.V. Hough, Vague Visages
Hammer to Nail
"wild and fervent celebration of creativity”—Christopher Reed, Hammer to Nail
People’s World
“refreshingly eccentric and unfiltered" —Chauncey K. Robinson, People's World
Filmmaker Magazine
"an entertaining time capsule that, by the end, is both unexpectedly moving and wise about the ways that artistic histories are generated." —Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine
Original Cin
"the parade of post-punk artists and artistic legends is entertaining for anybody who’s ever followed that era’s art scene.’' —Jim Slotek, Original Cin
POV Magazine
"Make Me Famous explores this well-trodden generation of the New York arts scene from new and often funny angles.”
—Pat Mullen, POV Magazine
My Gay Toronto
“The film is a fascinating and somewhat freewheeling deep dive into a moment of time as seen from the present. A time when the art world, and the world, exploded with creativity and social connections. And then imploded to become a business.” — 4 stars out of 5 Drew Rowsome, My Gay Toronto
Miami Artburst
"a whirlwind cast of characters, each one more fascinating than the next...an unflinching look into the bleak, dilapidated and often filthy playground of artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and a motley crew of painters, poets, photographers and others" —Sergy Odiduro, Miami Artburst
IndieWire
NewFest 2021: 10 Films to See at New York’s Premier LGBTQ Film Festival
“Featuring new interviews and archive footage, the 80s and Brezinksi come back to life, chronicling a celebrated moment in art history, and culminating in his mysterious disappearance.”
EDGE media Network
“a tempest of a film…intriguing!” —Kilian Melloy, EDGE media Network
QueerGuru
“His story is a piece of queer history that should be recorded and shared”—Roger Walker-Dack, QueerGuru
The Arts STL
“it more than earns its claim on 90 minutes of your time for the collective portrait it creates of the Lower East Side art scene Brezinski was so desperate to join” —Sarah Boslaugh, The Arts STL
Easy Reader
"Where this film excels is in the archival footage of the many artists interviewed in the present day. It’s exciting to witness the art parties in the derelict East Village with the known, Haring, Basquiat and Wojnarowicz, and (the) unknown..."
—Neely Swanson, Easy Reader
That Shelf
“the documentary also serves as a moving reminder that fame is far from egalitarian and often eludes even the most talented artists.” —Emma Badame, That Shelf
Biff Bam Pop
"part cultural history, part story of a painter desperate for recognition, and even part mystery. It all adds up to a revealing and enticing look at a scene I want to delve deeper into.”
—Andy Burns, Biff Bam Pop
Mile High Gay Guy
"captures the ebullience and creativity that flowed through the veins of New York City during the 1980s, an era characterized by raw artistic expression and a hunger for recognition."
—Drew Wilson, Mile High Gay Guy
Gay City News
"Brezinski remains an object of curiosity 40 years after he first entered the art scene" —Gary Kramer, Gay City News
Downtown Music Collective
"accurately shows the grittiness and communal spirit...one of the best documents of that era."
The Queer Review
“felt so fresh, that I feel almost as rejuvenated as when soaking in a tub with one of those fantastic, fizzy, creamy Lush Bath Bombs! In Brian Vincent’s remarkable documentary, he sweepingly takes us through the New York art world of the 1980s...oddly touching, Make Me Famous feels like a tribute to the underdogs as told by the bullies”
The Santa Fe New Mexican
"...brings [Brezinski] the attention he never received during his lifetime, while also capturing the make-it-or-break-it era in all its vicissitudes." —Michael Abatemarco, The Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe Reporter
“...a ton of energetic fun...Vincent knows just how to make a subject interesting, not that he didn’t have help. Brezinski is equally fascinating, insufferable, tragic and bizarre; a fully realized human swept up by life’s random flows and a deep-rooted desire for recognition.” 7/10 —Riley Gardner, The Santa Fe Reporter
The Reviews Hub
"engaging and often funny film" —Jane Darcy, The Reviews Hub
Film Review Daily
"Given the youth and craziness found in this group of Bohemians, it could well be thought apt that Vincent (editor as well as director here) opts to capture the energy of that time by cutting back and forth between contributors in a decidedly lively way.
—4/5 stars, Mansel Stimpson, Film Review Daily
The Village Sun
"...an interesting and entertaining documentary…”—Stephen DiLauro, The Village Sun
Broadway World
Broadway, Off-Broadway and Cabaret Artist Heather Spore To Premiere First Film as Producer, MAKE ME FAMOUS, October 17th in New York City
“Writing and producing the film together, Vincent and Spore have done a deep dive into the art scene of the Eighties, interviewing a series of eccentrics who reveal the unsung painter through memories of both Edward's antics and his extreme artistic drive while exposing the history of the Lower East Side art movement in the 80s from an insider's point of view. Through an investigation in the south of France, Heather and Brian also unearth the truth about what happened to Brezinski and his mysterious "death" in the Cote d'Azur. With the support of the artists and photographers of the movement, the film is a rich time capsule of the '80s art world from a moment in time when creativity was the ultimate prize.” —Stephen Mosher, Broadway World
Deadline
“NewFest is the perfect opportunity to celebrate little-known artist, Edward Brezinski, right in the heart of where he most wanted to be famous,” Vincent tells Deadline. “In his lifetime, he was rarely lifted up in this city and this is just the festival to turn it out.”
Brezinski was held back by what one might describe as self-sabotage.
“This was an artist who had incredible opposing forces at war within himself,” Vincent notes. “He was talented and hardworking but he was also a drunken fop who would throw it all away over a slight. When people heard I was trying to make a documentary about Edward Brezinski, they were gobsmacked. They would laugh, relax, open up and dish.”
IndieWire
NewFest 2021: 10 Films to See at New York’s Premier LGBTQ Film Festival
“Brian Vincent’s documentary looks to reposition Brezinski as an icon of his generation, supplying insider talking-heads, art world name-dropping, and downtown NYC grit as the backdrop.”
Movie Nation
“there’s still something punk rock about this crowd…takes us back to those days and the poses of the poseurs who made it” 3 out of 4 Stars—Roger Moore, Movie Nation
Broadway World
“In the documentary film MAKE ME FAMOUS a friend of the late Eighties painter Edward Brezinski declared that Edward (a known alcoholic and perpetual pauper) would always, any time he made any money at all, buy paint before he would buy alcohol. He spent his pittance on only the highest quality paints and the best grade of canvas, so important to him was his art. While an interesting insight into the mind of the artist that was Brezinski, as well as The Artist as an entity, this is not a unique theme.”—Stephen Mosher, Broadway World
New York Daily News
“Make Me Famous,” a documentary about the ‘80s art scene in New York City, is making its debut in the festival circuit. Directed by Juilliard-trained actor Brian Vincent, the film looks into the legacy of Edward Brezinski, a charismatic Lower East Side painter on the fringe of success, and his mysterious disappearance from the city’s downtown art scene.
“To be able to have the world premiere of that, and also have that be a local story about an unknown artist with a bit of mystery around him and his death is really [why] we think that’s going to be a really exciting feature,” said Hatkoff.
Queerty
“This new documentary chronicles the New York City queer art scene circa the 1980s, when urban decay, AIDS and the crack epidemic threatened the lives of artists on a daily basis. The film focuses on the life of Edward Brezinski, a friend of celebrated artists Keith Haring, David Wojnarowicz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. While Brezinski never would reach the same levels of fame, he became a force within the art underground, exemplified by his ever-ambitious quest for success. Featuring new interviews and archive footage, the 80s and Brezinksi come back to life, chronicling a celebrated moment in art history, and culminating in his mysterious disappearance.”—David Reddish, Queerty
East Village Grieve
How to watch 'Make Me Famous,' a documentary on 1980s downtown artist Edward Brezinski
“A documentary of possible interest: "Make Me Famous" is making its world premiere on Sunday evening at the NewFest”.