Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea at Santa Cruz's Guerilla Drive-In

Fri, May 19
8:00pm
FREE

www.saltonseadoc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHRIS METZLER AND JEFF SPRINGER'S NEW FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY, =

"PLAGUES AND PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA," SCREENS AT THE GUERILLA =

DRIVE-IN TO KICK-OFF THEIR SUMMER FILM SERIES.

Friday, May 19th at 8:00pm

Railroad Tracks at Fair Ave
Santa Cruz, CA

* Director Chris Metzler will be in attendance for a discussion after =

the screening.

BRING blankets, pillows, jammies, friends, wine, & food to share for =

intermission.

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theatre under the =

stars that springs up unexpectedly in the fields and industrial =

wastelands. This is our
fifth year showing great movies and bringing a broad community =

together, helping reclaim public space and transforming our urban =

environment into the joyful
playground it should be.

SUBURBAN WASTELAND LOCATION:

South on Hwy 17 to Hwy 1, Hwy 1 north to Mission St, L on Fair Ave after
Feral Donuts, walk a short way along the RR tracks to the right.

www.guerilladrivein.org
_____________________________________________

www.saltonseadoc.com

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA - SHORT SYNOPSIS

As narrated by legendary counterculture filmmaker John Waters, there =

was time when the Salton Sea, tucked into the southeast corner of =

California was known as
the Riviera of the West - a haven for jetsetters and vacationers. =

Originally created by accident, it's now one of the country's worst =

ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead =

fish and birds by the thousands. Still, a hardy few have hung on =

there, hoping for help to come along and restore the lake to its =

former glory. Congressman Sonny Bono himself was once dedicated to =

saving the lake, until he went skiing one dayhellip Eccentrics abound =

in this surreal landscape: the naked guy who waves to passing RVs; =

the man who built his own holy mountain; beer-loving Hungarian Hunky =

Daddy; the guys who plan to get rich someday when this virtual sewer =

becomes a Riviera again. Hair-raising and hilarious, part history =

lesson, part cautionary tale and part portrait of one of the =

strangest communities you've ever seen, this is the American Dream =

gone as stinky as a dead carp.
__________________________________________

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA - LONG SYNOPSIS

In the middle of a harsh desert valley in California's southeast =

corner, lies a glimmering blue jewel - the Salton Sea. Along its =

desolate shores stand boarded-up motels, dusty rural towns, half- =

flooded vacation homes, and miles of sun-crisped fish carcasses. =

Amid this surreal and apocalyptic landscape survives a most unusual =

and unexpected group of eccentrics, who have carved out their own =

slice of paradise on the shores of this ecological disaster. Through =

their perceptions and misperceptions, the strange history and =

unexpected beauty of the Salton Sea is revealed.

"Accidentally" created by an engineering error in 1905, reworked in =

the 50's as a world class vacation destination for the rich and =

famous, and then suddenly abandoned after a series of hurricanes, =

floods, and fish die-offs, the Salton Sea has a bittersweet past. =

Now amongst the ruins of this man-made mistake, a few remaining =

people struggle to keep a remodeled version of the dream alive. =

However, this most unique community is now threatened by the nearby =

megalopolises of Los Angeles and San Diego, as they attempt to take =

the agricultural run-off that barely sustains the sea. The fate of =

this so-called ecological time bomb and the community that surrounds =

it remains uncertain, as the Salton Sea might just dry up.

While PLAGUES & PLEASURES covers the economic, political, and =

environmental issues that face the sea, it more importantly offers up =

an offbeat portrait of the eccentric and individualistic people who =

populate its shores. It is an epic western tale of fantastic real =

estate ventures and failed boomtowns, inner-city gangs fleeing to =

white small town America, eternal optimism thriving among the remains =

of failed vacation destinations, and the subjective notion of success =

& failure amidst the landscape of the American Dream.
_______________________________________________

PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA - WAR STORY

4 years, 2 sunburned guys, 1 melted camera, 120=B0 heat, 75% humidity, =

dust storms, earthquakes, beautiful sunsets, flooded towns, palm =

trees, air boat rides, double-wides, bombing ranges, amputees, meth =

addicts, swinging seniors, naked Christians, mooning Hungarians, =

infatuated eleven year-olds, dead shit, botulism, toxic muck, an =

unfathomable stench, and a whole lot of cash - all washed down with a =

warm 40oz beer.
_______________________________________________
CHRIS METZLER - CO-DIRECTOR'S BIO:

After graduating from USC with a degree in business and cinema, =

Chris' film 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, where together they've criss-crossed =

the country with the aid of caffeinated beverages and made their way =

in the Nashville country and Christian music video industries, before =

finally forsaking their souls to commercial LA rock n' roll. These =

misadventures eventually culminated in them winning a Billboard =

Magazine Music Video Award.

Chris now finds himself pursuing docs featuring gay truck drivers and =

Australian opal miners.
_______________________________________________

JEFF SPRINGER - CO-DIRECTOR'S BIO:

Jeff Springer was born in a virtually abandoned town in the =

California desert, raised in Hawaii, and educated at USC Film =

School. After living for a winter in Russia, he returned to Los =

Angeles to begin directing music videos, shorts, and editing for UPN, =

Fox, Geffen Records, and Lucasfilm. Burned out and hung over, he =

eventually fled to San Francisco to start work on PLAGUES & =

PLEASURES, while still driving to Los Angeles to edit WWF and Moesha =

promos to pay the bills. He now lives somewhere between San =

Francisco and Berlin.

"Plagues & Pleasures" is their first feature documentary for which =

they won the Robert Altman Award and the BAVC Videomaker Award.

Venue:

Santa Cruz's Guerilla Drive-In
Railroad Tracks at Fair Ave
Santa Cruz

www.guerilladrivein.org

SUBURBAN WASTELAND LOCATION: South on Hwy 17 to Hwy 1, Hwy 1 north =

to Mission St, L on Fair Ave after Feral Donuts, walk a short way =

along the railroad tracks to the right.

Additional Info:


www.saltonseadoc.com