ASCO: Without Permission is a genre-defying exploration of one of the most radical and visionary Chicano art collectives of the 1970s and ’80s. Based in East Los Angeles, ASCO (Spanish for “nausea” or “disgust”) fused art and activism, fearlessly confronting racism, erasure, and stereotypes in the art world, Hollywood, and mainstream media. Dismissed in their time, they are now recognized as some of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Blending fiction and nonfiction through bold, collaborative works with a new generation of Latinx artists, Without Permission breaks cinematic boundaries to reimagine both ASCO’s legacy and the future of art itself. At once a documentary, a visual manifesto, and a creative rebellion, the film honors a collective that refused to ask permission — and changed the cultural landscape in the process.