AMERICAN HOMEBOY: AI-Powered Lowrider Documentary Cruises To Major Streaming This Week!
The popular indie documentary AMERICAN HOMEBOY is set to debut on Apple TV and Amazon Prime after becoming a viral sensation earlier this year, selling out theaters, and garnering multiple distribution offers — all without an agent or studio.
Filmed over 3 years and edited in 90 days by first time writer-director Brandon Loran Maxwell, AMERICAN HOMEBOY leveraged AI technology to restore 20 terabytes of rare archival footage and explore the lesser-known origins of Mexican American pachuco and cholo culture.
“Chicano history is unique, beautiful, and complex,” said Maxwell. “My goal was to help contextualize it for average people by utilizing modern technology.”
In 2022, Maxwell founded the digital multimedia company Chela Media with the goal of creating visual, audio, and editorial content for Mexican American audiences who make up 60 percent of Latinos.
Bucking the traditional course, Maxwell approached independent theaters across the country himself and negotiated individual deals with each theater to convince them to play AMERICAN HOMEBOY. He then sold out each showing to prove to distributors that an audience existed for his film.
In addition, Maxwell built his own app and streamed the movie on the app to recoup the money he put into the project before turning around re-licensing the film to a major distributor.
Since debuting in indie theaters, AMERICAN HOMEBOY has drawn crowds from California to Maine and developed a national fanbase. Screenings often draw 400-500 moviegoers, dozens of venders, and classic lowrider clubs, almost entirely from the Mexican American community.
The documentary film is the first of its kind, tracing the turbulent journey of pachuco and cholo culture over a century, while drawing from interviews with leading figures, including Estevan Oriol, Charley Trujillo, Luis Rodriguez, David Oropeza, Eduardo Pagán, Chuco Moreno, Sandy Avila, and more.
AMERICAN HOMEBOY is available to steam on Apple TV and Amazon Prime beginning Oct 15th.
