Pot and movies go together like cookies and milk. For instance, just look at the works of Messrs. Cheech and Chong, Kevin Smith or Jim Breuer, much of which wouldn’t be possible without the magical powers of pot. Surprisingly though, Brooklyn’s first pot film festival, happening September 26 at the Wythe Hotel, isn’t about the pleasures of staring at your fingers until you see them fing. According to what organizers told the Village Voice, the point of Sunday’s New York City Cannabis Film Festival is to “elevate cannabis culture.”
Yes, somehow we’re getting a pot-centric film festival in our fair borough and it’s not just about getting loaded and watching Caddyshack and also Caddyshack 2 because what the hell it’s loading so why get up and stop it? Instead, the Cannabis Film Festival is more along the lines of your traditional film festival, with screenings of short films divided into three categories (animated, trippy and comedy) along with a documentary on Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, the Israeli doctor who first discovered THC. There’ll also be vendors selling pot merchandise like vape pens hemp wick.
Sadly, the whole thing seems just a bit stuffy, what with everyone interviewed about the festival doggedly sticking to calling pot “cannabis” and organizer Tim Mattson stressing to the Voice that people can’t just come inside and blaze up in the Wythe Hotel. On the other hand, they have enough of a sense of humor to schedule next Saturday’s first screening for 4:20pm, so maybe it won’t be a giant narc convention. If you want to check the festival out, you’ve gotta decide by this weekend, because ticket sales for the festival (which will run you $20) end on September 20. If you miss out though, just keep in mind that pot is easier than ever to get and both The Naked Gun and Grandma’s Boy are streaming on Netflix.