''RoachTrip'' is a 2003 Canadian
documentary about two
punks
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...
, Roach and his friend Smash down the invisible punk highway across Canada. It captures their goal to escape the streets of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
as they cross to reach the "promised land" of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
's
Okanagan Valley
The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...
.
The film is an
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
coming-of-age chronicle told in an intimate point-of-view style, directed by
Eric "Roach" Denis of
EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canada, Canadian Film, cinema production company co-founded by Daniel Cross (filmmaker), Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic ...
, a
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
-based documentary production company, as a continuation of the autobiographical journey that he had started by being portrayed as one of the main characters in
Daniel Cross award-winning documentary ''
S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic'' where Eric Denis contributed with his
RoachCam. The film ''RoadTrip'' became the directorial debut film of Eric "Roach" Denis.
Synopsis
RoachTrip starts by waving the black flag in the House of Commons and ends wandering lost in
the desert. In between is an odyssey down Canada's invisible punk highway in search of something pure and clean. Roach and Smash, two inseparable street buddies from Montreal introduced in 2002 documentary "S.P.I.T." earlier, ping-pong across the country. The same couple are now set loose with RoachCam and the loose mandate of filming the annual Punk migration across Canada.
Camping, fishing, and fruit-picking their way through summer, these two punks are never quite able to leave the city behind. Just beyond the paradise of the Okanagan lies the lure of the streets of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.
Synopsis from EyeSteelFilm website
Festivals
The documentary premiered at the FCMM Festival and also screened at the Global Visions Festivals in Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada. The film is scheduled for New York Underground Film Festival The New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008 founded by filmmakers Todd Phillips ('' Road Trip'', '' Old School'') and Andrew Gurland. After P ...
(aka NYUFF) (New York) NEMO (Paris) and the Images du Nouveau Monde (Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
).
See also
*'' Punk the Vote!''
References
External links
Official film page on EyeSteelFilm websiteRoachCam site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roachtrip
2003 films
EyeSteelFilm films
Punk films
Canadian documentary films
Canadian road movies
2000s road movies
Autobiographical documentary films
2003 documentary films
2003 directorial debut films
2000s English-language films
2000s Canadian films