Full Description
From internationally acclaimed filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough (Bomb the System) and executive producers David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jody Hill (creators of HBO’s cult hit Eastbound and Down) comes a fly-on-the-wall look into the life of a modern-day Mozart, Nick Koenig (aka Hot Sugar). Using a sound recorder he never leaves home without, Hot Sugar creates one-of-a-kind music made entirely out of sounds from the world around him. Already a YouTube phenomenon, Hot Sugar lives every young musician’s dream and has an internet-famous girlfriend—rapper Kitty—to go along with it. While on tour, Kitty breaks up with him, and he flees to Paris, where he grew up, in search for not only exotic new sounds to use for beats, but the answer to what makes him truly happy. Director Bhala Lough masterfully uses Hot Sugar’s recorded sounds in his own sound design for the film to fully orchestrate the “cold world” heard through Hot Sugar’s ears. Through his journey of self-discovery, Hot Sugar visits the graves of his Holocaust survivor grandparents, seeks worldly (and outer-worldly) advice from Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (The Cosmos) and learns what it takes to survive as an artist and a mensch.
—Joshua Moore
Filmmaker Bio(s)
3-time Sundance alum, Spirit Award nominated writer/director and one of Filmmaker Magazine’s Top 25 Independent Filmmakers to Watch, Adam Bhala Lough has dedicated his career to telling compelling stories, collaborating with interesting people and creating authentic work. Moving comfortably between Narrative and Documentary, Adam's films sit at the of mainstream culture and the arthouse. He specializes in crafting real performances out of non-performers, artists, musicians, professional athletes and celebrities, while bringing Academy Award winning actors to the table as well. His 5 features have entered the most prestigious international film festivals - Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, Edinburgh, Karlovy Vary, Stockholm, Melbourne, Cairo - to name a few. Adam is also a mentor in the Sundance Institute's Native Film lab and was given the Congressional Award for voluntary public service.
