WINNER
“Seemingly lighthearted at first, it unfolds to unveil some deep, timely truths at a time when we need to examine closer the magic right under our feet.” Harlem Film Festival
next up: ANANSE CINEMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Dec. 29th ACCRA, GHANA
WATCH THE TRAILER
A magical realism dramedy about a father searching for his daughter, who in turn is searching for love. Shot during the pandemic in NYC, In The Weeds is an ode to a city and lives rising back up. The film is a quirky urban botanical guide for dealing with love and loss, starring Doug E. Doug, with music by seminal funk rock band ESG.
Chapter 1: Dandelion
The lowly common dandelion grows in sidewalk cracks everywhere. Cultures from around the world have used dandelions for thousands of years to regulate blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and boost the immune system.
Larry (Doug E. Doug) has been running all over NYC searching for his daughter Shaunte, but why will no one tell him where she is?
Chapter 2: Lavender
There are 47 known species of the lavender growing wild the world over. Prized for its use in aromatherapy, lavender is effective in reducing anxiety, depression and treating insomnia.
Shaunte (Jazmine Villegas), a free-spirited girl from Harlem, has fallen for K, a handsome transplant from London, whose mental scars have been awoken by the pandemic. The remedy, Shaunte believes, is outside, everywhere, from medicinal weeds sprouting out of sidewalks in the Bronx, to magic mushrooms in Queens.
Chapter 3: Psychedelic Mushrooms
Scientific studies support the idea that magic mushrooms are an excellent treatment for anxiety and depression. Each variety produces a differing level of hallucinatory effect depending on how much psilocybin it contains.
K (Jaspal Binning) is falling in love too, but is too afraid to leave his apartment. When K finally breaks free, he goes in search of Shaunte with the help of a couple of quirky brujos, or healing witches, who send him on a mind-opening trip.
Chapter 4: Storksbill
A weed found in temperate regions worldwide, the Storksbill has been used in traditional medicines for centuries as an astringent and hemostatic to stop bleeding of wounds.
Larry’s floral business has gone under, and he’s desperate to find Shaunte to make amends for his years of neglect. He is paranoid and angry that Shaunte seems to be avoiding him. His city-wide search for her ends on the Brooklyn bridge, where he gets swept up in a rally and an epiphany.
Chapter 5: Deep Breathing
Breathing is the essence of life. Our most basic and essential act. The act of breathing deeply and mindfully, is at the heart of spiritual practices the world over.
Life is beautiful. Even in uncertain times. Sometimes to find yourself, you have to get lost in the weeds.
In The Weeds
Shot over 2021, In the Weeds was born during the pandemic, but its message is really timeless. Love and loss are universal. We both live in NYC, one of the epicenters of the ordeal. When we started talking about the film, our focus was on the big cyber hole of conspiracy theories and misinformation, but we soon realized that was just another distraction.
Everyone was fraying, overwhelmed by grief or the politics of anger. What we needed was some focus, some centering, a shift in perspective. That led to a discussion about magic mushrooms and other healing herbs that can help open the mind. We loved the idea that the weeds you see in sidewalk cracks hold secret healing abilities.
Rather than being lost in the weeds, we wanted people to see the weeds–see that the remedy, the power to take back their lives and push forward, is at their feet.
So we took our cameras out and just started shooting without a script, mostly outdoors around Harlem at first. We would come back and edit, and see where it took us. As the story fell into place, we began scripting. The film captures a moment in time, of uncertainty and anxiety, but also hope. We didn’t really know where we were going but we knew we were going to get there.
Team Doug and Clay
Doug E. Doug has established himself as a writer, producer, director, and actor with a flair for comedy and drama. He began as a stand-up comic at 17. He started in television, hosting and writing a syndicated late-night program called The New Music Report. Doug is well-known to audiences worldwide for his role in the feature film Cool Runnings.
Doug starred in the ABC series Where I Live, in which he served as co-producer, and spent four seasons as Griffin in the series Cosby. His directorial debut was the feature film Citizen James which aired on Starz Movies. His first novel The Fall of 87 is available on Amazon. Doug has appeared on Sesame Street, Touched by An Angel, Law and Order, Law and Order: SVU, Conviction, Blue Bloods, Shark Tale and was seen recurring on the FX series Justified, and Brown Nation, streaming on Netflix.
Clayton Allis is an award-winning filmmaker and owner of The Media Horde, a New York City-based production studio that specializes in digital content and post production. Clay’s first feature Falling aired on Netflix, and was awarded Best Feature at the Temecula film festival and the DNA festival, Best of New York at the Queens festival, the Golden Cine in Mumbai, and the Viewer’s choice at Cinequest. His short films In the Future Love Will Also and What the F*** Doug E. Doug took top spots at The Brooklyn Film Festival and Williamsburg Film Festival respectively, while an early short :/RUN started a conversation about surveillance that made the news in the New York Times, New York Post, and other media. Clay grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and lives in Harlem.
For sales and distribution
CONTACT US
Email us at the address above, or fill in the form.
