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This is a very interesting and heartwarming documentary about mural painters in New York City. If you’ve spent any time in lower Manhattan, you’ve surely noticed the beautifully painted advertisements covering entire sides of buildings, or at the very least you’ve noticed the faded, weathered remains of some from years past.

“Up There” is beautifully shot, with excellent pacing and loads of character. It’s a fascinating inside look at an evaporating trade where there are no easy ways out. In this day of immediate satisfaction and cold, computerized everything masquerading as your new best friend, it’s refreshing to gaze into this niche occupation that still seems somewhat removed from the trappings of the 21^st century.

It’s hard to imagine a time when advertising wasn’t completely insidious — probably because such a time never actually existed — nonetheless, listening to the stories of the old master, the current craftsmen, and the hopeful apprentice captured in this short film does inject some much-needed humanity into one of the most pervasive, despicable industries on the planet. Hopefully, they’ll serve as a reminder in this digital age, full of relentless innovation and quick fixes, that sometimes hard work and human hands are irreplaceable.