Joe Chang's Neutral, available here for the first time on DVD, is a unique and frequently hilarious film that has captured the attention of various Southeast festivals (Indie Grits awarded it the best-of-fest Top Grit award in 2008) and film pundits (Mountain Xpress' Ken Hanke says it "mingles the mundane with the casually surreal and occasional flights of pure fantasy…Chang’s loopy narrative manages to catch something of the quirky quality of the place of its origin: Asheville"), as well as like-minded filmmakers like John Cameron Mitchell, (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus) who dubbed it "beautifully written and bursting with sympathy for its quirky characters."

Told in a series of loosely-knit vignettes that range from quiet naturalism to absurdist extremes, Neutral is an absorbing cross-section of human connections lost and found through a shared artistic curiosity. The story's ambition is matched by the scope of its production, casting over 70 Asheville-area residents, mostly non-actors, to take part in a constantly shifting focus, all inventively shot on gorgeous 16mm by director of photography Greg Hudgins, on a slim budget raised through a year of truckbed living, peanut  butter and banana sandwiches, and dollar noodle nights.

Neutral is the second major production from Carolina-based Papercookie Productions, and the first feature from writer/director Joe Chang.

Special Features:

• Full-length audio commentary by writer/director Joe Chang, and co-producers Aubrey Curtis and John Ferrer
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Production photos
• Trailer

Runtime: 99 minutes

Not Rated (but would probably be PG)

More Information:

Neutral at Papercookie.net
Neutral on IMDB
Neutral on MySpace