EXCLUSIVE: Eli Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Appian Way Productions, and QC Entertainment have partnered on Death Boom, a feature-length documentary about the contemporary death care industry from director Jessica Chandler (A Fine State This Is).
The exposé film, currently in post-production, reunites Roth and Appian Way, who previously collaborated on the shark-finning doc Fin, which contributed to the shutdown of shark kill tournaments along the East Coast of the U.S.
As a “spiritual follow-up” to Fin, Death Boom “pulls back the curtain on the catastrophic mental and environmental impacts of the contemporary death care industry. The film, shown through the lens of the workers at the heart of it as they prepare for the passing of 77 million baby boomers, exposes the toll that embalming, cremation, and traditional burial have on those who’ve passed, their families, and deathcare workers, and the corruption – political, religious, and corporate – that stands in opposition to greener methods being nationally legalized and accessible.”
The synopsis continues: “The film ultimately shows what is possible if these green methods are put into wider practice, and works toward normalizing conversations around death and grief.”
Along with producing, Roth narrates the documentary and appears on camera, as does Chandler. Oscar winner DiCaprio produces with Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson for Appian Way (Killers Of The Flower Moon). Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick serve as producers for QC Entertainment and Edward H. Hamm, Jr as an executive producer.
Get Out and BlacKkKlansman outfit QC Entertainment fully financed the project and will represent the film alongside WME Independent.
“Jessica Chandler and I have wanted to make this film for over twenty years, since she first told me about the environmental horrors of the death care industry and how avoiding death as a subject makes us complicit. We spent years finding brave people willing to speak on camera, revealing the poisoning of our bodies and land that contaminates our water, air, and food,” said Roth.
He continued: “We aimed to show the issue from all sides, without blame or shame, and to present clear solutions that already exist but are blocked by those invested in maintaining the current system for profit. Made entirely in secrecy, the film will shock and inspire. This is not an attack on an industry, but an effort to understand how we got here and how we can move forward together to protect future generations. Jessica and her team did incredible work, and we hope the film galvanizes people to take control of their own death.”
“We are incredibly proud to reunite with Eli Roth and join forces with the visionary team at QC Entertainment to bring Jessica Chandler’s urgent work to the screen,” said President of Appian Way, Jennifer Davisson.
She continued: “At Appian Way, we are drawn to stories that empower us to look at the systems we’ve long taken for granted and challenge them through our filmmaking. Death Boom is a crucial exploration of a crisis that is as much about environmental preservation as it is about human dignity, and we are honored to join a conversation that we can no longer avoid.”
QC partners McKittrick, Mansfield and Hamm commented: “Death Boom is exactly the kind of urgent, unflinching storytelling we built QC Entertainment to champion – work that grips you, stays with you, and sparks a conversation. Jessica has made a powerful documentary that confronts the real costs of how we handle death in America while illuminating solutions that already exist. We’re proud to partner with Eli Roth and Appian Way to bring a film that replaces taboo with truth – and shows what’s possible when better options are made accessible – to audiences.”