From abject poverty and obscurity, Briol rose to become a major player on the international art scene, where his stellar techniques drove the action in London, Paris and New York. In 2004 a fire at an east London warehouse destroyed most of Briol’s work, making the remainder scarce and highly-collectable. Briol’s origins (from the northern conurbation of Stoke-on-Trent) were humble and the man himself (described variously as ‘jerk’, ‘genius’ and ‘cipher’) remains obscure. Nicholas Ferenczy’s documentary (with Part 2 to follow) attempts to unravel the mystery that is Peter Briol.