Out of Competition

PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA



Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer

Country of production: USA
Year: 2004
Language: English
Mins: 86

Production company: Tilapia Corp.
Producer: Chris Metzler
Cinematography: Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer
Editing: Jeff Springer
Sound: Scott Hirsch

Source: Tilapia Corp.
Chris Metzler
1588 Hayes Street, #2
San Francisco, CA 94117, USA
Tel.: 310 497-6005
e-mail: metzler@rocketmail.com
www.saltonseadoc.com


Experience the unlikely story of the rise and fall -- and possible rise again -- of southern California's Salton Sea, a man-made lake in the middle of the desert that was intended as the setting for a world-renowned resort. Through a series of natural and unnatural disasters, the body of water defied man's plans to exploit it, and the area was left with flooding, pollution and a tacky economic disaster area. Several unlikely heroes tried to come to the rescue, including the late singer and congressman Sonny Bono, who dreamed of making the briny pond a rival to Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, an unusual group of eccentrics carved out their own slice of paradise on the shores of this ecological disaster. The filmmakers view the Salton Sea saga as a massive comedy of missed opportunities with the possibility of a comeback always lurking on the horizon. Poignant, funny and reminiscent of Errol Morris’ Vernon Florida, Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a cautionary tale about environmentalism versus out-of-control capitalism.


After graduating from USC with a degree in business and cinema, Chris Metzler's career has taken him from the depths of agency work to coordinating post-production for awful American movies seen late at night in Belgium. His film directing and producing work has resulted in frequent partnerships with Jeff Springer. Jeff Springer was also educated at USC Film School. After graduating he directed music videos and shorts, and edited footage for UPN, Fox, Geffen Records and Lucasfilm. Plagues and Pleasures is their first feature documentary. It won them the Robert Altman Award and the BAVC Videomaker Award.

FILMOGRAPHY

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA (2004)

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005 AT 4.00 PM. / CHOPIN THEATRE
SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2005 AT 3.00 PM. / CHOPIN THEATRE