Considering it is life-threatening to visit your local bar, even if your state may be opening up, one can have a cathartic cinematic experience in the Ross Brothers’ Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, one of our favorite films at Sundance and Berlinale. Capturing the day and night of a dive bar’s final day, it has a conceit best left to discover. It’s now set for a release this month, first on July 8, Utopia will host a series of special one-day-only virtual screenings of the film benefiting the USBG Foundation’s Bartender Emergency Assistance Program COVID-19 Relief Fund, then a virtual rollout will begin with runs starting July 10.
I said in my review, “With their latest film Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, brothers Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross turn their lens on that warmly inviting, idyllically dingy, and endlessly lively microcosm of society: the dive bar. Premiering in the U.S. Documentary Competition section at Sundance, the filmmakers behind Western and Tchoupitoulas once again break the boundaries of such a programmatic box, using a casted ensemble, a scouted location, a vérité style, and the loosest of scripted ideas to explore community, pain, and regrets in America circa 2016—and particularly the unfiltered honesty in which these themes can be conveyed when a ceaseless stream of alcohol is involved. This collection of lost souls and inquiry into their perspective on life results in a tale of profound authenticity and devastating heartbreak.”
See the trailer below and read our interview with the directors here.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets opens digitally with select events on July 8, followed by a larger rollout beginning July 10. See more info here.