I am proud to announce that “No Alternative” will have its World Premiere as the OPENING NIGHT FILM at the 2018 Dances With Films Film Festival in Hollywood!
Dances With Films is perhaps the best example of an “independent” film festival, in the truest sense of the word, that stands out amidst a wealth of independent film festivals—most of its competition consist of festivals that are far from independent. There is a reason why the industry shuts down during Sundance, it’s because Hollywood actually goes there; the town transplants itself to Salt Lake City, Utah. If you’ve tried getting an agent, producer or film investor on the phone during the Sundance Film Festival, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I once had a colleague ask me, “Have you had an agency screening for Sundance yet?” You can read into that question as much as you’d like, and you’ll likely come to the same conclusion I did: many of the film festivals that tout themselves as independent from Hollywood are far from it; in fact, they are so intertwined that they cannot operate without each other.
Dances With Films is the opposite of the above. It is a festival that prides itself on who you don’t know. It is a festival that prides itself on challenging the establishment. It is a festival that prides itself as being the rebel. And it is the festival that has chosen “No Alternative” to open its 21st year. It is a distinct honor and pleasure to screen the film the evening of Thursday, June 7th, at the landmark Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood.
Dances With Films is one of the highest attended film festivals in the country with more than 20,000 attendees each year, and Indiewire has called it “the premiere showcase of innovative cinema in the U.S.”
As many of you know, “No Alternative” started as a grassroots project on Indiegogo—a project that honored the memory of my brilliant, but mentally ill, sister—and now it is complete and ready to make its way into the world. It’s a movie that many will enjoy, and a few might bristle at; it’s a movie that, hopefully, sideswipes you—whether you like the feeling or not. “No Alternative” is a coming-of-age drama that drills a hole into the world of suburban American teenagers in the early 90’s. Thomas Harrison is determined to start his own alternative band, an obsession that blinds him to what’s either the mental collapse, or the eruption of musical genius, of his little sister, Bridget. Bridget boldly rejects her brother’s music, and the music of an entire generation of slackers, by taking on the persona of a gangsta’ rapper named “Bri Da B.” The movie probes the lives of rebellious kids who transition into adulthood via the distortion pedals of their lives in an era when the “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll” ethos was amended to include “Suicide” in its phrase.
Come join me along with the cast and crew at its World Premiere and watch it on one of the best projection systems in the world. Tickets and passes will are available here through the festival’s website: https://danceswithfilms.com/film-listings-narrative-features/no-alternative/.
