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As talk of legalization swept through California’s Humboldt and Mendocino counties in 2016, local marijuana growers remained cautiously optimistic. After decades of helicopter flyovers, DEA raids, and living life in the shadows, growers traded fears of prosecution for anxiety over what an influx of big money could do to their hard-won industry. Filmed over four years, “Lady Buds” While a few characters are as colorful as one would imagine, most are simply hard-working entrepreneurs trying to stay afloat. The feminist film does their stories justice through an empathetic if disappointingly dry lens.
Filmmaker Chris J. Russo became interested in the subject matter after reading a statistic that women held 36 percent of leadership positions in the cannabis industry, the highest percentage of any other emerging market in the U.S. Focusing on six main subjects, plus a few supporting characters, “Lady Buds” struggles to find a human narrative, even among a plethora of eccentrics.
Filmmaker Chris J. Russo became interested in the subject matter after reading a statistic that women held 36 percent of leadership positions in the cannabis industry, the highest percentage of any other emerging market in the U.S. Focusing on six main subjects, plus a few supporting characters, “Lady Buds” struggles to find a human narrative, even among a plethora of eccentrics.
- 11/27/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
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Gravitas Ventures Acquires North American Rights to Documentary ‘Lady Buds’
Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, acquired North American rights to the documentary “Lady Buds,” directed, produced and written by Chris J. Russo.
“Lady Buds” tells the story of six women in cannabis who left their livelihoods behind in the underground market to forge a path to legalization in California as they attempt to claim their piece of the “American dream” in the very market they helped create.
“In her confident and ambitious feature debut, Russo highlights six women who are as interesting as they are inspiring. Seeing these underdogs fights against bureaucracy and regulations make for a highly insightful and engaging film,” says David Sullivan, sales and acquisitions manager at Gravitas Ventures. “We can’t wait to play our part in getting this timely and enjoyable film out into the world.”
Sullivan negotiated the deal with Travis Tammero at CAA.
Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, acquired North American rights to the documentary “Lady Buds,” directed, produced and written by Chris J. Russo.
“Lady Buds” tells the story of six women in cannabis who left their livelihoods behind in the underground market to forge a path to legalization in California as they attempt to claim their piece of the “American dream” in the very market they helped create.
“In her confident and ambitious feature debut, Russo highlights six women who are as interesting as they are inspiring. Seeing these underdogs fights against bureaucracy and regulations make for a highly insightful and engaging film,” says David Sullivan, sales and acquisitions manager at Gravitas Ventures. “We can’t wait to play our part in getting this timely and enjoyable film out into the world.”
Sullivan negotiated the deal with Travis Tammero at CAA.
- 9/27/2021
- by Katie Song
- Variety Film + TV
In what could be a companion piece to Mario Furloni and Kate McLean’s cannibusiness drama Freeland, Chris J. Russo’s Lady Buds is an exploration of newcomers and legends blazing a path for themselves in California’s legal recreational cannabis market. Legalized by the flawed Prop 64 in 2016––a messy bill that intended to provide both relief for those with a criminal record while also building a market place that gave small farmers time to develop a “farm to stoner” industry before big capital came in––the subjects of Russo’s documentary spend time navigating the legal framework, fighting against Nimby-ism, old thinking (both within the industry and in municipalities) and the well-capitalized players looking to cash in. The old farmers of Humboldt County balance the hurdles of legalization along with practical business decisions: will publicly-traded companies and big money make it impossible to complete, driving the price of the...
- 5/10/2021
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
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Programmers selected 219 films from 2,300 submissions.
Women directors account for nearly half of the selections at the online 2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which will run from April 29-May 9 and is available to viewers across Canada.
Programmers selected 219 films from 66 countries across from 12 sections from 2,300 submissions.
Special Presentations sponsored by Crave features world premieres of Yung Chang’s Covid-19 film Wuhan Wuhan; Dirty Tricks, about a scandal within the world of competitive bridge playing; and Come Back Anytime about self-taught Japanese ramen master Masamoto Ueda.
The Persister strand comprising female-directed films about women speaking up and being heard includes world...
Women directors account for nearly half of the selections at the online 2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, which will run from April 29-May 9 and is available to viewers across Canada.
Programmers selected 219 films from 66 countries across from 12 sections from 2,300 submissions.
Special Presentations sponsored by Crave features world premieres of Yung Chang’s Covid-19 film Wuhan Wuhan; Dirty Tricks, about a scandal within the world of competitive bridge playing; and Come Back Anytime about self-taught Japanese ramen master Masamoto Ueda.
The Persister strand comprising female-directed films about women speaking up and being heard includes world...
- 3/23/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
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