DESPITE THE GODS (52 & 85 mins)

Jennifer Lynch, daughter of cult film auteur David Lynch, made her directorial debut in 1993 with Boxing Helena. Lynch returns to the director’s chair with an ambitious project that will test her skills and the entire crew’s sanity. Braving the unmapped territory of Bollywood-Hollywood movie making, chaos is the process and filmmaking doubles as a crash course in acceptance and self-realization.

SYNOPSIS
Welcome to India! Home of the world’s largest movie industry, where mere mortal film stars are worshiped with the same fervor as timeless Indian Gods; and the new buzzword ‘co-production’ looms on the lips of Indian financiers keen to form a Bollywood-Hollywood alliance. Hollywood’s prodigal daughter, Jennifer Lynch, travels to India to direct Hisss: a creature-feature film about the vengeful snake Goddess Nagin. But things go wrong very quickly. Perhaps there is a good reason why Hollywood and Bollywood have never blended like this before…

The more they plan, the more the Gods laugh. The more they try to lock things down, the more they seem to shift; locations, cast, scripts are constantly rotated, re-invented and improvised depending on what the Indian day brings. A cyclone, strikes and superstitious crew don’t do much to help. All differences, apparent and invisible, personal and professional are brought to the surface. With uncensored candour, Lynch can only cheerlead and watch with part hope, part despair as her beloved Hisss strays further and further away from her original vision. Surrounded by a team of truly wonderful Indian crew, her twelve-year-old daughter, and a cast of Bollywood stars, she does her best to stay sane and guide the production through a minefield of disasters.

DIRECTOR: Penny Vozniak PRODUCER: Karina Astrup

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FILM WEBSITE: www.despitethegods.com

DISTRIBUTION:
North America:  Brink Vision
World: Cat & Docs

AVAILABLE ONLINE:
Brink Vision, Vimeo on Demand, Amazon US, Night Flight Plus and Google Play

BROADCAST ON: YLE Finland and Channel 8 Israel

WINNER:
“Best Documentary” - LA Femme Film Festival
“Best Director for Documentary” - LA Downtown Film Festival
“Best Comedy” - Atlanta DocuFest

For a list of all Festivals participated in click here.

For Media and Press links click here.

“Lynch is the beating, empathic heart of the film, an endearing combination of raw emotional honesty and self-deprecating humor.”
- IndieWire

“A penetrating, highly entertaining portrait of Lynch as an artist and single mother living through the despairing lows and exhilarating highs of filming on the subcontinent.” 
- Variety

“Vozniak’s observational eye illuminates the intensity and transcendent beauty of the artistic process.” 
- Indie Outlook

"Entertaining beyond its nuts-and-bolts appeal to cinephiles, Despite the Gods owes much of its zip to the funny, passionate and remarkably frank Lynch." 
- The Hollywood Reporter

“I felt deeply enthralled with this film. This is a film that will remain in my consciousness as a thought provoking and powerful teaching tool on the horrors and wonders of film making.”
- A Bucket of Corn

"Despite the Gods is now free to take its place alongside films like “Lost in La Mancha”, and “Overnight” - examining just how quickly a production can spiral out of control.”  
- Arrow in the Head

“This film stands alone as a valuable and brutally honest insight into the everyday life of a full-time director and single mother, also providing us with a snapshot into the culture of modern day India, with particular emphasis on the themes of sexuality, poverty and class systems.” 
- Filmbiotic

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