Netflix has announced that they have acquired the global rights to director Theo Love's documentary feature, The Legend of Cocaine Island. The film, previously titled White Tide: The Legend of Culebra, premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival where it was enthusiastically embraced by audiences and critics who referred to the film as one of the most compulsively watchable documentaries in years.
In The Legend of Cocaine Island, a small-business owner and family man comes across the legend of a buried stash of cocaine worth $2 million hidden in the Caribbean. Having been wiped out during the Great Recession, he hatches a plan to retrieve the buried loot, using the talents of a band of colorful misfits. But without prior drug-running experience, trouble (and laughter) ensues.
"We didn't set out to make a documentary in the traditional sense. We wanted to make a movie. A Big fat, entertaining movie." said director Theo Love. "I grew up thinking documentaries had to be boring, stuffy, educational films but then I got my Netflix subscription. Netflix changed the game for docs in every way and we're thrilled to add to their collection of true stories."
"With this film we had one goal in mind," said producer Bryan Storkel, "Entertain audiences on a large scale. Netflix was the buyer we had in mind from the beginning, and partnering with them to reach over 130 million people is a dream come true."
The Legend of Cocaine Island is produced by Bryan Storkel and Theo Love, executive produced by Brian Knappenberger, Jeff Goldstein, Tom Love and Nate Larson, and stars Rodney Hyden as himself. The acquisition was handled by Josh Braun and Ben Braun of Submarine Entertainment.
The Legend of Cocaine Island is director Theo Love's sophomore feature. Love is a commercial director, an Emmy-winning editor, and screenwriter. His critically acclaimed directorial debut Little Hope Was Arson, was curated by PBS' INDEPENDENT LENS and played theatrically across the country.
The Netflix Original Documentary will launch globally in 2019.
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