RELAXER American Independents

AFI FEST alum Joel Potrykus takes us back to the halcyon days of Y2K for his latest study in broken men and thwarted ambitions – and it all takes place on a couch. Longtime collaborator and frequent muse Joshua Burge reunites with Potrykus, with Burge playing Abbie, a young man whose permanently pained face signals the personal hell in which he has trapped himself. Abbie’s purgatory is a rotting couch that acts as a performance space for him to attempt a series of increasingly difficult and disgusting dares made by his brother Cam. Burge’s sweaty bare body forms the keystone to Potrykus’ aesthetic, alongside duct tape, camcorders, retro games consoles and milk. Lots and lots of milk. Few working independent filmmakers have carved such an utterly original niche as the uncompromising Potrykus. – Lane Kneedler