Abel Raises Cain on Amazon VOD

I almost spit coffee all over my computer screen when I saw our movie on the Amazon VOD home page this past week. Amazon is spotlighting ABEL RAISES CAIN through a major PR campaign initiative headed by Indieflix. I knew it was coming...some sort of Summer Indies promotion, I was told. But I really didn't expect to see our documentary sandwiched in between Religulous, Grey Gardens and Man on Wire. I'm not just name-dropping well-known documentary titles here, I promise. I'm pointing out the fact that it's the ultimate form of acknowledgment to even be on the same page as these other films.

It's like I took an 11-year nap and only dreamed about crazy mutated things and making a movie about my parents. And then I was quickly dumped into an awakened state in 2009, thrust before a computer monitor only to find that our film is in the top 100 VOD titles and # 13 in Independent Film. Feeling bewildered, I can't help but wonder, Is this movie about my silly parents really being viewed at this high a level? Or are the numbers rigged like the lottery? I mean, we're potentially talking about thousands and thousands of eyeballs.




The bad news is that the spotlight only lasts so long. People consume what's on their plate. And then back to the musty closet filled with cobwebs we go. Yes, it's sad. But like my father used to bang into my head when I was younger, "Jennifer, nothing good lasts forever." These words still haunt me.

How do we stay afloat and in the minds of viewers in an attention-deprived society where there is so much media to consume? It helps to have a tireless, competent and transparent distribution company on our side, this much I know (Thank you, Indieflix). Subject matter is important, too (Thank you, Alan Abel). Having a supportive partner in crime is also invaluable (Thank you, Jeff Hockett). And I guess the fact that I refuse to give up this race that lacks a defined finish point helps (Thanks again to Alan Abel for passing down his gumption genes).

hulu's spotlight on ABEL RAISES CAIN

If anyone wonders where the hell we've been and what we're doing...my dad is in the middle of a hoax campaign (still yet to be revealed) and writing his autobiography, also called ABEL RAISES CAIN (we stole the title), I'm working on combining my dad's site with our film's site - the first phase has launched but it's still a MAJOR work in progress. And Jeff and I are continuing to self-distribute and split up the rights to our documentary. The company that's handling our US Digital Distribution, INDIEFLIX, helped us get onto hulu and this week, hulu is spotlighting our movie.

You can check out the Abels guest blog on hulu and there is also an interview that my dad and I did together, if you enjoy reading our babble!




Without a doubt, hulu is the biggest thing that's ever happened to our small indie movie. We edited this thing in our one-room apartment, and we never thought we would make it this far, so Jeff and I are finding this experience to be extremely surreal. The fact that they're advertising our documentary in the animated banner section without any money changing hands or a major studio backing us, is beyond crazy.

We have Indieflix to thank for this, as well as Lance Weiler, Arin Crumley and the people at hulu who happened to like my dad's story enough to give the film a bit of a push.

Below is the full feature. Please feel free to embed and share with anyone who might take an interest in my slightly demented family!

A letter to Barack Obama from Yetta Bronstein

January 14, 2009
Hon. Barack Obama
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

PLEASE HOLD UNTIL ARRIVAL (1/21/09)

Dear Mr. President,

As a follow-up to my previous letter, I would like to offer you a few good ideas free of charge, Mr. President, for changing our country. This is no squid pro squid, so here goes:

1. Since Oprah raised the bar by giving everyone in her audience a new car, how about bailing out GM, Ford and Chrysler, only if they give every American family a new hybrid car? Including illegal aliens. Why alienate them further?

2. I understand it costs our government $40,000 a year to house, feed, guard and rehabilitate each of the 2.2 million people in prison. Then give them seven days in which to be adopted by an American family or be put to sleep. The money saved would eliminate our trillions in debt and provide the empty prisons for housing the homeless, soon to be in the millions.

3. Abolish income taxes. Instead, the entire family weighs in on or before April 15th and pays $5 a pound for each member of the family, including pets, and other occupants. The aggregate total from 300 million people would exceed an income tax total. This method also diminishes the obesity problem, except for the filthy rich.

4. Take Congress off salary and put them on straight commission.

5. Place truth serum in the Senate drinking fountain and install a mental detector in both houses of Congress.

6. Require all doctors to publish their medical school grade averages in the telephone book. An A+ doctor could certainly be trusted for brain surgery.

7. SAT tests should be given to all members of the Electoral College.

8. Allow guns in homes but decrease the velocity of bullets by 98%.

9. Charge $5,000 for a marriage license and $5 for a no-fault divorce.

10. Same sex marriages would become legal nationally and hermaphrodites should be allowed to vote twice.

Thank you for your consideration of my ideas, Mr. President. I ran for President myself in 1964 and 1968, losing both elections by a landslide. You can read all about it in my book, The President I Almost Was.

Sincerely, Mrs. Yetta Bronstein

will sex sell? - Alan Abel @ the Bloor Cinema in Toronto 12/7/08

Our Canadian distributor, films we like, has set up a special day of screenings at the Bloor Cinema on 12/7/08 to kick off our Canadian DVD release next week. ABEL RAISES CAIN will be shown along with my parents' classic mockumentary, IS THERE SEX AFTER DEATH? (1971).

View the trailer of IS THERE SEX AFTER DEATH?

Driving through New York City in his Sexmobile, Dr. Harrison Rogers (Alan Abel) of the Bureau of Sexological Investigation, searches out luminary figures in the world of sex. The legendary fake sex documentary by Alan and Jeanne Abel, "the first really funny R-rated movie ever made...outrageous and brilliant...the sexual revolution raked over the coals!" stars Buck Henry, Robert Downey Sr., Holly Woodlawn, and one-time MAD magazine writer, Earle Doud.

This is a rare exhibition on the big screen not be missed! Alan Abel will be doing Q&As after each screening. Come one, come all!

WHEN:
SUNDAY DEC 7th, 2008 - 2 FILMS for the PRICE of 1!

WHERE:
Bloor Cinema
506 Bloor St West
Toronto, ON M5S 1Y3

Showtimes:
ABEL RAISES CAIN
1:00 (PG)
IS THERE SEX AFTER DEATH?
3:00 (R)
ABEL RAISES CAIN
5:15 (PG)
IS THERE SEX AFTER DEATH?
7:15 (R)

Buck Henry wearing a wig behind the scenes with Iris Brooks...
Alan Abel and Buck Henry, both masters of the art of deadpan...
The SEX OLYMPICS contestants during an intermission...
A therapy session at the Bureau of Sexological Investigation...

abel raises cain on LINK TV

I've used several analogies to describe the life of our film, ABEL RAISES CAIN. The arduous journey making it (7 years+) and our subsequent premiere and unexpected win at Slamdance, I refer to as the 'Tortoise and the Hare' period. What followed was a seemingly unstoppable but slow-paced 'Wounded Race Horse that Kept on Running.' Now I've decided our movie has taken on the form of a Giant Mutant Earthworm - It's lived beyond normal life expectancy, it keeps growing, it travels at a determined albeit wiggly pace, and it has the remarkable ability to continually regenerate itself.

Maybe this analogy doesn't work very well, but the point is...I'm happy to report that interest in my dad's story and his work continues. Last month, he spoke at MIT [Check out the Boston Phoenix article by Ian Sands]. He then traveled to the UK to lecture at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. This past weekend, he was in Concord, New Hampshire at the S.N.O.B. film festival for the screening of his 1974 film, THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT. This week (11/13/08), he goes to Troy, NY [The Sanctuary for Independent Media] to host a Q&A following a screening of ABEL RAISES CAIN. Next month, he travels to Toronto for our opening and DVD release party at the Bloor Cinema.

Every time I think that things are winding down to a slow trickle, it starts pouring again. I know how lucky we are to have my dad as a film subject. I mean, you really can't ask for a more interesting person to follow around with a camera. But back to the worm analogy, it's as if the film has regenerated itself on BOTH ends. ABEL RAISES CAIN feeds interest in my father and his work - and people who read or hear about my dad want to see the movie. I am really overjoyed that it's worked out this way.

Incidentally, I think the 'b' in blog stands for babble. So without further ado, if you have not seen the documentary yet and you're interested in finding out more about Alan Abel, please tune your satellite dial to LINK TV [CHANNEL DETAILS ARE HERE] on November 16th, 2008. There are additional broadcasts on November 26th, 29th, and 30th. [ABEL RAISES CAIN AIR TIMES ON LINK TV]

ABEL RAISES CAIN is airing as part of DOC-DEBUT, a series on Link TV highlighting unique and groundbreaking international documentary films. Each week features the U.S. television premiere of a new doc, offering American audiences unprecedented perspectives on world events and culture, as seen through the eyes of individuals across the globe. The series also provides a unique outlet for films by independent directors and producers to reach a much wider international audience.

DOC-DEBUT airs every Sunday at 8:00 pm Pacific and every Saturday at 8:00 Eastern. [Click here] to SEE THE 'ABEL RAISES CAIN' program listing.