IT Was Written Movie

t Was Written: The Foundation, traces the origins of Chicago’s graffiti movement, from its emergence in the mid-1970s through its expansion and suppression in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Through archival material and firsthand accounts, the film captures a generation of artists who shaped a visual language across the city while navigating increasing efforts to erase it from public space.

Set against a period of intense cultural tension, the documentary reveals how writers adapted, persisted, and redefined visibility, turning walls into testimony and the resistance through the act of being seen through the marks a city tries to remove.