Arlieta Hall

Having missed out on his cult's long awaited ritual suicide, an obnoxious loser teams up with his bogus ex-messiah to rebuild their doomsday commune. Traveling together through middle America, the constantly-bickering duo induct a military wannabe, a mentally unstable mom, and a mysterious foreign hitchhiker into their cult... but will this family of outcasts fulfill their transcendent destiny, or decide this life might be worth living after all?

In this deeply personal documentary, Arlieta has gone against all popular advice and quit her day job to care for her father, Milton. She has to learn how to laugh in the midst of a disease that is not very funny, using improv to affirm and validate his experiences. Inspired by her father’s own artistic career, Arlieta turns to comedy to process her emotions. It’s challenging for her and her “bonus mom” Charmaine to watch Milton decline, but they support each other and find healing through laughter.

A relevant, timely and distinctive coming-of-age story following a half dozen interrelated characters in the South Side of Chicago. The story centers on Brandon, an ambitious and confident young man who dreams about opening a restaurant of his own someday, but is conflicted between the promise of a new life and his responsibility to his mother and teenage brother back in the South Side.