» Bill Cowell, Founder of The Buffalo Niagara
Film Festival is proud to announce a victorious
return for #2.
Bill pledges that this will be a spectacular 2nd year with large events and big
surprises to be talked about for years to come. Enjoyment to all, and to all
an enjoyable plight. See you soon.
Plagues
and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (saltonseadoc.com)-
Saturday, March 31st, 6:10pm Downtown Buffalo/Theatre
District, Market Arcade Screen 2
As
narrated by legendary counter-culture 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 day… 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.
DIRECTOR
STATEMENT
PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA - WAR STORY
4 years, 2 sunburned guys, 1 melted camera, 120 degree 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.