There’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of couchsurfing. It’s actually a pretty old concept used by college students, tourists, and all sorts of artists and bohemians. You stay on a friend’s couch temporarily, maybe a day or so. And then, depending on your plans, you move on to another couch. It’s that free-spirited act of sharing that has evolved over time. Consider the Occupy movement and all the questions it has helped raise. We have reason to question plenty, don’t we? We are forced to even question things that seem so fundamental. Can we continue as we’re going in our capitalist society? That’s something we’ll talk more about. For now, let’s consider couchsurfing and sharing in general. That’s what filmmaker Alexandra Liss does in her new documentary, ONE COUCH AT A TIME, which is being distributed by Devolver Digital Films.
ONE COUCH AT AT TIME is an eye-opening documentary that will take you places you may have not fully considered. I look forward to viewing this in full. It already speaks to me on many levels. I am a firm believer in sharing what you have, seeking out help when you need it, and not being bashful of making new connections with your fellow human beings. My graphic novel, ALICE IN NEW YORK, is about the wonders and magic that are possible when you put your trust in the right places and allow yourself to have an adventure. Interestingly enough, that book will be published thanks to crowdfunding. There’s really no limit to what you can do and this documentary helps to demonstrate that.
Press release follows:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Devolver Digital Films to Distribute Epic Indie Sharable-Life Documentary: ‘One Couch at a Time’ Releasing in Select Theaters and VOD this Fall – What would you share with a stranger?
– Follow director/producer Alexandra Liss as she taps into the couch-surfing community and discovers a life[style] worth sharing –
Austin, Texas — August 19, 2013 – Devolver Digital Films announced today it has inked a deal to distribute One Couch at a Time, a new documentary showcasing the couch-surfing lifestyle as experienced by a young girl as she travels the world over, forever transforming her take on humanity as she discovers ‘”the shareable life.” Devolver Digital Films is set to run One Couch at a Time in several cities this September (full list to be announced here: http://www.tugg.com/titles/one-couch-at-a-time) for limited-engagement screenings at select theaters, as well as release the film via nationwide VOD and internet deliveries including Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, PlayStation, Xbox and a host of others.
Two years ago, San Francisco native Alexandra Liss set out across six continents armed with a backpack, a camera and one mission: to couchsurf around the world and document the people, cultures and experiences she encountered. Liss was forever transformed as she discovered a greater phenomenon of subcultures living “shareable lives” – people who value sharing resources over direct ownership. The documentary sheds light on how the simple act of opening yourself up to new possibilities can transform your entire life.
“I wanted to tape the world,” said Liss. “I’ve always been interested in film, but I realized that it was specifically the medium of documentary film that called to me – because in a world where moments are fleeting and constantly re-written by our subjective memories, I find video documentation can be the purest form of telling a story while allowing people to open their perspectives and walk in each other’s shoes.”
Liss says couchsurfing was her “gateway drug” to the shareable life; these days she shares her apartment, her car, and many other traditionally private resources with total strangers using the digital tools of the new sharing economy. She is a co-author of the upcoming book It’s a Sharable Life, a how-to guide to the lifestyle.
Devolver Digital Films is the indie film arm of interactive digital entertainment’s indie rock stars Devolver Digital, purveyors of fine independent content on the video game scene since 2009. Devolver Partner and Funslinger Mike Wilson said, “One Couch at a Time is an extraordinarily apt title to lead the label’s crop of Fall 2013 movie releases and we’re excited to share this unique title.”
“Alexandra’s point is that sharing resources elevates us all and puts the whole world into our hands, and that resonates so much with our philosophy as a distributor and strategic partner to indie film projects,” said Wilson. “We’re trying to encourage a generous, supportive ecosystem amongst our filmmakers and partners, and put peer-to-peer connections and new digital innovations to work, knocking down some of the barriers that used to keep great little indie movies from getting seen in the old (distribution) model.”
One Couch at a Time is set to hit VOD in major U.S. markets this fall.
For more information about One Couch at a Time please visit: http://www.devolverdigital.com/films/view/one-couch-at-a-time.
For more information about Devolver Digital Films please hit up: http://www.devolverdigital.com
