The Art of the Shine – Trailer

You might pass them on the sidewalk, at the mall or at the airport. They’re the shoe shiners, purveying an old school trade that seems like something out of the Mad Men era, out of step with our fast-paced, disposable consumer culture. But for the “shiners” in Stacey Tenenbaum’s joyous and quirky film The Art of the Shine, shining shoes is a calling and a passion, a way to be one’s own boss and connect with other people from all walks of life. From New York to Toronto, from Paris and La Paz, The Art of the Shine travels the world for an inside look at a forgotten profession. The documentary captures the joy of many shoe shiners as they work and the artistic freedom the job provides, something extending to several of the film’s subjects.