I AM DIVINE And DISCOPATH Among FilmBuff's April VOD Lineup!
“Ages and Stages: The Story of the Meligrove Band” takes a raw and inside look at the lives and frustrations of one of Canada’s most overlooked and hard-working indie rock bands. Chronicling The Meligrove Band from their teenage beginnings to the release of their 2010 LP “Shimmering Lights,” the film reveals the dedication of the band’s three core members, who have weathered bad luck, legal troubles, near-misses and more on their quest to break through. Features live footage, behind-the-scenes confessions and antics, and interviews with members of Tokyo Police Club, The Hidden Cameras, Sebastien Grainger (Death From Above 1979), By Divine Right, Teenage Kicks, Young Rival, and others.
Released April 1st
I Am DIvine - This wild and outrageous documentary profiles the life of Harris Glenn Milstead, a.k.a. Divine, chronicling his early days as a misfit youth in Baltimore through his rise to infamy as a cult superstar. The ultimate outsider, he transformed himself from a bullied schoolyard fat kid to a larger-than-life personality and underdog royalty as his alter-ego Divine. Combining movie clips, live performance footage, and featuring interviews with John Waters, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, Tab Hunter, Holly Woodlawn, Michael Musto, Bruce Vilanch, and many more of Divine's family, friends, and devotees, “I Am Divine” celebrates the life of the icon who, with a completely committed in-your-face style, blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.
Released April 1st - Available on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Xbox, PlayStation, and Vudu
Let Timmy Smoke - This exciting documentary follows the dramatic story of several players in the cannabis industry, leading up to the 2010 California election and the vote on Proposition 19, a voter initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use. The film chronicles a season in the life of an outdoor grower in Northern California, a “High Times” writer, a lobbyist, and the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series on the eve of the election, with fans chanting “Let Timmy Smoke” in support of their star pitcher Tim Lincecum. “Let Timmy Smoke” captures a moment when all eyes were on California and the debate surrounding cannabis legalization.
Released April 8th
Hot Guys With Guns - Danny Lohman is a struggling actor who takes his homework a little too seriously. Pip Armstrong is his ex with a trust fund and a knack for finding trouble. Together they enlist the help of a jaded PI named Jimmy Peppicelli to break up a crime spree sending shockwaves through Hollywood’s Velvet Mafia. Under Jimmy’s tutelage, they learn the finer points of pointing a gun, talking to informers, and out-running the cops and the bad guys, in this Chinatown meets Boystown modern take on the old-fashioned detective story.
Released April 8th
The Organic Life - Following a year in the life of Austin, a hopeful organic farmer, and his skeptical girlfriend Casey, this illuminating documentary chronicles farm living and shows not only who grows your food, but also how it is grown. In the face of minute profit margins, passion alone fuels their commitment to shaping their local harvest, and in doing so, altering America’s agricultural landscape. A story filled with sun, rain, sweat, and blisters, the film depicts Austin and Casey’s passion for food and the earth, challenged by the financial and environmental hardships facing today’s farmers. “The Organic Life” is a portrait of sustainable farming in the 21st century and a revealing look at how the farm sustains its keepers.
Released April 8th
Putsel - For Walter Himmelstein, a young man endearingly known as Putzel, life literally doesn’t go beyond his family’s fish store on the upper west side of Manhattan. In this heartwarming romantic comedy about sex, love and smoked fish, Walter’s aspirations of taking over his uncle’s fish emporium are disrupted by the arrival of Sally, who becomes romantically involved with his about-to-retire and very-married uncle. While Walter tries to thwart their romance in order to ensure his taking over the business, he finds his circumscribed life thrown off kilter, and, after years of being undermined by his family and friends, finally starts to realize that he’s more than a Putzel.
Released April 8th
Art Recession - Despite its huge impact on culture and commerce, art education is often one of the first programs to be cut during times of economic turmoil. Featuring interviews with visionary artists, educators, and respected art curators including Gary Baseman, Gary Blackwell, Michelle Borok, Jason Holley, Brooke Kent, Monica Magana, and P. Williams, this thought-provoking documentary looks at the current state of art education in America, exploring how it teaches us to communicate, develop critical thinking skills, enriches our culture, and ultimately conveys our humanity. “Art Recession” reveals the power of art and the shift in thinking required in order to save it.
Released on April 15th - Available on Amazon Instant Video
Bombay Movie - This revealing doc follows Raja Menon, an independent filmmaker living in the shadows of India's Bollywood. Inspired by a neighborhood night watchman, Raja enlists two foreign producers and a star cast to undertake the making of “Barah Aana,” a gritty realist film about the city’s overlooked working poor. As he battles corruption, financial hardships and the Bollywood system, Raja finds his filmmaking dreams slipping away. “Bombay Movie” reveals the passion and perils of filming a love letter to India’s biggest, most unpredictable city.
Released on April 15th
Journey To Planet X - By day Eric Swain and Troy Bernier are a couple of mild-mannered, middle-aged scientists from Florida, but their wildest dreams come to life after hours when they get together to make fantastical sci-fi movies with the help of amateur actors and a green screen. “Journey to Planet X” follows the DIY filmmakers as they deal with the pressures of ego, aspiration, and making the impossible seem possible. This quirky and heartwarming doc reveals how the power of dreams and imagination can stretch the limits of moviemaking.
Released on April 15th
Pot Country - This engaging documentary looks at the role marijuana plays in the lives of two people in rural Northern California. Following a fifth generation ex-logger and a back-to-the-land grandma who makes her living as a pot grower, “Pot Country” tells the linear story of how pot came to the homesteads and small farms of Humboldt County, and how it is changing the region in the present day.
Released April 15th - Available on Amazon Instant Video
City Baby - Between her best friend moving to Brooklyn, pressure to find employment from her father (Daniel Baldwin), and juggling romances with an aging rocker boyfriend and a yuppie fling, Portland twentysomething Cloey is reluctantly plucked from her party-girl reality to deal with real life and learns what growing up looks like when you’re already a grown-up. Featuring cameos from noted musicians including Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus and live performances from Portland bands including Glass Candy.
Released on April 22nd
Olympia - In this sexy and stylish drama, a young actress enters the adult film world and prepares for a role that will make her a star.
Released April 22nd - Available on Amazon Instant Video
Southern Belles - Anna Faris (“Scary Movie”) and Laura Breckenridge (“Gossip Girl”) play Belle and Bell, two trailer-trash Georgian zeroes desperate for adventure who hatch a nutty get-rich-quick scheme. Just as they are on their way to securing a nest egg, their plans begin to unravel when Bell falls for a handsome local policeman named Rhett Butler.
Released April 22nd - Available on Amazon Instant Video
Discopath - New York City, 1976. Whenever mild-mannered Duane Lewis hears disco music, murderous and manic impulses are unleashed. After falling into a psychotic trance at a disco dance party, Duane escapes the city and reinvents himself as a teacher at an all-girls private school. Wearing special gear to cut out external sounds, he believes he’s put the past behind him, until he’s bombarded with decibels by his disco-loving students, transforming him into a deadly serial killer. “Discopath” is an electrifying and blood-soaked nod to the golden age of Italian giallo and the films of John Carpenter and Brian De Palma.
Released April 29th
Around the Internet
Recent Posts
Calgary Underground Film Festival: Films and Events Announced
LA CHIMERA Review: Precious Things Left to Bury
RESIDENT ALIEN S3 E7 Review: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise
Leading Voices in Global Cinema
- Todd Brown, Toronto, Canada
- Founder and Editor
- Peter Martin, Dallas, Texas
- Managing Editor
- Andrew Mack, Toronto, Canada
- Editor, News
- Ard Vijn, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Editor, Europe
- Benjamin Umstead, Los Angeles, California
- Editor, U.S.
- J Hurtado, Dallas, Texas
- Editor, U.S.
- James Marsh, Hong Kong, China
- Editor, Asia
- Kwenton Bellette, Melbourne, Australia
- Editor, Australia
- Michele "Izzy" Galgana, New England
- Editor, U.S.
- Ryland Aldrich, Los Angeles, California
- Editor, Festivals
- Shelagh Rowan-Legg
- Editor, Canada