A Q&A with the Creators of the ‘Sticker Movie’

Sticker Movie is a celebration of sticker culture worldwide. Through street art, zines, shows, and street photography, people of all ages and backgrounds have come together to form an international sticker community. This self-regulated network of enthusiasts create, trade, collect, and display stickers outdoors for all to see. Sticker people are the heart of this subculture, and Sticker Movie is their legacy. It is a film made for sticker people and by sticker people – a colorful patchwork of stories told by the sticker addicts, sticker heads, slap taggers, sticker artists, and sticker collectors who shape this culture, guard it, and share it with the world.

The world premier is this Friday, October 6th 7-9pm in Portland, Oregon. Check out their site to buy tickets

About The Filmmakers…

Will Deloney is an Emmy Award winning storyteller, with over 20 years of experience producing and directing television, motion pictures, and digital content. As the Executive Director for Pixelated Ideas, Will currently manages a group of creative professionals across the U.S. capturing culture-defining moments that attract diverse audiences. Current obsessions include independent film, documentaries, stickers, street art, and fingerboards.

Sha-Risse R. Smith is a writer, mother, and proud Harlemite. Her passion is to bring diversity to film by creating unique stories which showcase strong female characters. Her award-winning film Strive starring JoiStarr and Danny Glover is a tribute to the legacy of Striver’s Row in Harlem. In addition to filmmaking, Sha-Risse loves graffiti and is active in sticker art culture worldwide under the alias Agent 5 Smith.

Where did the idea for a sticker movie come from? What inspired the team to put this together and how long have you been working on it?

Sha-Risse: Sticker Movie began with a DM from Will. He asked if I was interested in making a film about sticker art, and without knowing who he was in the industry, I said yes. I had no idea he was a two-time Emmy award-winning producer. He was my sticker friend Chilly Willy, and I was honored and excited to work with him. Though I wanted to make a movie about stickers for years, I knew how much work it would take and I couldn’t have done it alone. Three years later, I never imagined that a DM would have led to all of this.

Will: I am interested in subcultures that might be misinterpreted or underrepresented and making documentaries about them. As a sticker artist I knew I was immersed in a beautiful, ephemeral world of art that needed to be preserved. But the idea for Sticker Movie was ultimately born from a sticker trade with Agent5Smith. We started chatting over IG and I learned that she had written a feature film called Strive starring Danny Glover. I pitched the idea to Agent and immediately knew we were the dream team for Sticker Movie. She was not only a great writer but also an amazing producer who knew just about EVERYONE in the sticker community. After Agent and I conducted our first few interviews, we knew we had something truly magical on our hands.

Can you tell me a little bit more about Pixelated Ideas and what kind of projects you guys do?

Will: Pixelated Ideas is a creative collective and production company that produces documentaries, music videos, commercials, comedy, and environmental awareness campaigns. We love to collaborate with other artists and some of our favorite projects include a Tai Chi DVD with Lou Reed and Global Enlightenment Part I, a documentary about legendary hip hop artist Kool Keith. We love to write, produce, record, and capture stories for screens and speakers of all sizes. The PI team has won Emmys and been reviewed by Rolling Stone. Our ideas are pixelated and our fidelity is high.

What inspired the idea behind the muppet Slappy? What is its role in the film?

Sha-Risse: Slappy the Slaptagger is the brainchild of Will and Jim Tozzi. His name was originally Bubbles, and he wore a wig. Though I named Slappy and wrote the draft of his script, I was also totally against the idea of having a puppet in the beginning. But when I met Jim Tozzi, who is an incredible human being, I was willing to give it a try. It took some time, but I have come to love Slappy. He is the perfect narrator and mascot for Sticker Movie.

Will: Slappy the Slaptagger came out of feedback from one of our early international test screenings. We received a note that the documentary needed a voice that could speak to an audience unfamiliar with sticker culture. I had just recently traded sticker packs with a New York artist named Jim Tozzi. Jim was a part of a show called Wonder Showzen, a parody of educational PBS Kids shows like Sesame Street. It had an enormous influence on me when it came out in 2005. I remember watching the DVDs over and over at the time. I asked Jim if he would be willing to create and voice a puppet character for us, and the rest is history! As the host and narrator of Sticker Movie, Slappy provides comic relief while introducing complex topics.

How did you curate the artists that were interviewed for the movie?

Sha-Risse: In 2021, we had an open call and allowed anyone to join us. We did not discriminate based on notoriety. It was important that Sticker Movie represented the culture as it is. The same way you see stickers in the streets with famous and unknown artists, new artists and seasoned artists, together on the same pole, is the same way you see artists represented in Sticker Movie.

Will: There were a few artists who were so integral and deep into the sticker scene we knew we had to at least ask them for interviews. Luckily for us, they said yes and were very generous in sharing extremely personal material that took us places we did not expect. The interviews were so instrumental in shaping the story of our film, they are credited as Creative Consultants. So big thanks to Dave Too, I Will Not, and Jon Jon Lives. We appreciate you homies.

In putting together this project, what was the biggest thing the team learned about sticker culture?

Sha-Risse: I learned that we have so much in common. We share more than sticker packs and memes. Our community is stronger and more vital than I realized.

Will: This project started at the height of the pandemic, and the biggest lesson for me was how sticker art was such an invaluable tool for so many artists’ physical and mental well-being. The act of creating a sticker can ease anxiety and take your mind off the problems of the modern world. Getting outside and going on sticker walks is also a healthy activity. There are many artists who have replaced unhealthy addictions with stickers. The fact that a tiny adhesive piece of paper can help so many people in a positive way was a beautiful lesson to witness in such a challenging time for humanity.

What is the team’s relationship with the two cities that seem to feature prominently, Portland & New York?

Sha-Risse: We shot a good portion of the film in New York because it is where many of our crew members live. But most importantly, New York is also the street art capital of the world. I’m from Harlem, born and raised, and I stand by that statement. There’s no place like New York. And Portland has an incredible community that stepped up to the plate when making this film. We are beyond grateful for the support we have received from the sticker community.

Will: I have worked on a couple of documentaries that required me to spend a lot of time in Portland. I immediately fell in love with the city and look for any opportunity to get back there. Portland has one of the most active sticker scenes in the country. I would argue that Portland is one of the top 5 sticker cities in the world, and we are super lucky to premiere our film there.

What are your ambitions for the film?

Sha-Risse: The goal is distribution. I truly want everyone everywhere to see this film. Not all sticker people live in major cities or regions with film festivals. We want our film to be accessible to everyone.

Will: We named this project Sticker Movie because our goal from day one was to have this film seen on the big screen. I watch as many documentaries as possible in the theater, and any time a filmmaker is in person for a Q&A, I am there. I want to keep that tradition alive despite the devastating impact Covid has had on independent cinema. We also want the film to be seen by everyone. This means screening at theaters around the world and eventually, streaming.

What do you hope the audience learns after watching the Sticker Movie?

Sha-Risse: Art is not a crime.

Will: Stickers are fun and anyone can make them. Sharing them is super fun too.