BendFilm Alumni Film Library

Connected Off The Grid (2021)

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The last two generations have been striving to build bigger, better, stronger, faster but at a dangerous cost to the environment and society. But the dream is not always the cookie cutter house, the nine to five workday, the fancy car, and the repetition of the daily routine. From Garth, a desert dweller who lives in a cement tipi to Stan, a tree-sitter fighting to save the Redwood forest, and to a family of four who live on a boat moored out on the water in preparation to sail around the world, a hidden number of people have decided to take a step back and reside alternatively, giving up the ideal of having the typical “American Dream” lifestyle. ​Three distinct individuals have found the perfect balance between staying connected and disconnected at the right times in our world today.


About the Director:

Rachel Bujalski is a documentary photographer and filmmaker specializing in long-form storytelling with a focus in highlighting the commonalities of humanity across age, gender, race, nationality, and socio-economic status. When Rachel discovered she could live on a sailboat in Marina Del Rey in 2014, she jumped at the opportunity. What had started as a temporary home quickly turned into a three-year lifestyle and ignited her exploration of other alternative housing in California with photography and film. Her work has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, WIRED, and CNN among others. Her 2019 documentary work for ESPN's "The Squad: E:60" and article, "44 Years, 41 Allegations", won an Emmy for Best in Sports Journalism 2020. And in 2020, she was named one of The 30: New and Emerging Photographers to Watch and selected as one of Critical Mass's Top 50 artists.

  • Runtime
    21 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    USA
  • Premiere
    Central Oregon Premiere (South of Portland and east of the Cascades), Oregon Premiere, Northwest Premiere (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana), West Coast Premiere
  • Director
    Rachel Bujalski