presents
The Guatemalan Handshake
2-DVD Set Available on April 29, 2008
Review Copies Now Available
* Starring actor-musician Will
Oldham (Old Joy), and featuring songs
by Kimya Dawson and The Moldy Peaches
* Winner of Special Jury Prizes at Slamdance
and the Torino Film Festival
* Package design by 2008
Oscar-nominated animator James Braithwaite (I
Met the Walrus)
"The Guatemalan Handshake is a
revelation! It holds a place in my heart
that is normally reserved for Easter candy."
-
Jared Hess, director of Napoleon Dynamite
"Invention and
personality to spare! Not to mention marvelous mysteries, quirky
connections and cockeyed running gags that Rohal effortlessly weaves into the
design of the crazy-quilt comedy."
-
Sean Axmaker, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
"One of the
coolest and most original indies of the last year."
-
Scott Macaulay, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE
AVAILABLE: APRIL 29, 2008 - One of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New
Faces of Independent Film, writer-director Todd Rohal charts strange new
cinematic waters with his madly inventive feature debut, The Guatemalan Handshake. Winner of Special Jury Prizes at Slamdance and Torino, Rohal's
vivacious feast for the senses "bristles with his anarchic visual
language, offbeat humor, ephemeral sense of narrative, circuitous character
sketches, and freewheeling sense of mirth" (Baltimore City Paper).
Starring actor-musician Will Oldham (Old Joy) and featuring music from Kimya Dawson and The Moldy Peaches (Juno), The Guatemalan
Handshake begins in the confusion following a massive power outage in
small-town
Narrated by young Turkeylegs
as she pieces together Donald's puzzling disappearance, Rohal's
rural tapestry explodes in unforgettable widescreen surprises: a woman attends
her own funeral, a childhood TV legend leaps from a cliff, the sun rises
sideways, and a bright orange, wedge-shaped electric
car changes hands again and again. Chaotically absurd with an underlying
poignancy, these droll vignettes come crashing together in a climactic demolition
derby that marks the exhilarating debut of an adventurous storyteller.
TWO-DISC
SPECIAL EDITION, WITH OVER 2 HOURS OF BONUS FEATURES:
DISC 1: THE MOVIE
* New high-definition digital
transfer, supervised
and approved by director Todd Rohal
* Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
* Director's Commentary, with
contributions from the cast and crew
* Ola Podrida music video: "Lost and Found," directed by Todd Rohal and starring Ivan Dimitrov
* Deleted Scenes
DISC 2: THE SUPPLEMENTS
* 10 Moments From the Set of The Guatemalan Handshake: interviews, casting sessions, mini-documentaries, and more
behind-the-scenes footage
* 5 Moments From the Road with The
Guatemalan Handshake: hilarious and bizarre happenings from the
film's theatrical premieres across the
* 6 Short Films, directed by the cast and crew
PLUS: "Outrage the Rooster," a new critical essay by filmmaker David
Gordon Green (George Washington, Pineapple Express)
The Guatemalan Handshake (2006): 97 minutes,
Color, Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0, In English with optional subtitles, Anamorphic 2.35:1,
NTSC Region All
AVAILABLE: April 29th, 2008 -- SRP:
$29.95
For Screeners, Interviews and Publicity
Inquiries:
BENTEN FILMS
Andrew Grant & Aaron Hillis
news@bentenfilms.com
Please visit www.bentenfilms.com for more info on
Benten, the first DVD label curated by critics.
The Guatemalan
Handshake © 2006 Amalgamated Filmworks / DVD
Packaging © 2008 Benten Films
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