Made with the approval of the artist's estate, the first documentary to receive it, the film draws on the recollections of close friends and family, including his sisters Jeanine Heriveaux and Lisane Basquiat, who serve as executive producers. It features works never seen before and rare archive imagery, tracing his childhood in Brooklyn, his early graffiti as part of the SAMO collaboration, his rise in the art world, his friendship with Andy Warhol and the pressures of fame. Quinn Whitney Wilson makes her feature directorial debut, co-directing with Viridiana Lieberman, the editor of The Perfect Neighbor.