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Why Director Joel Potrykus is Releasing His New Movie as “Pay What You Wish”

Along with the debut of a brand new trailer (above) for Joel Potrykus’ The Alchemist Cookbook, distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that the film will be released via BitTorrent Now for pay-what-you-wish on October 7th.

The Alchemist Cookbook is a portrait of a Sean, a young hermit in the woods who sets out to solve an old mystery, and loses his mind along the way. Starring Ty Hickson and Amari Cheatom, the film premiered at SXSW and screened at various other festivals including BAMcinemaFest and Fantasia.

Potrykus, who previously directed Ape and Buzzard, recently penned an Op-Ed about why he’s a fan of the pay-what-you-wish model.

The Alchemist Cookbook is about escaping the static, while bringing the noise. Sean says that the government doesn’t own him anymore. He’s found something new out in the woods. No rules, no bosses, no business, no bullshit. The internet is a big, weird place, and I’ll be damned if this movie doesn’t escape the trends and traditional release strategies,” writes Potrykus. “I want to set it up in the woods and see what happens when it’s left to fend for itself.”

Read the full Op-Ed here.

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