Freeland

Freeland is the stupendous feature debut by writers/directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean. Devi (Krisna Fairchild) is an old hippie who has been illegally growing high-impact weed in the woods in Humboldt County for three decades. Her crop this year is the strongest yet, a strain she invented and named “God’s P***y.” Her buyer from Nebraska (Robert Parsons) is very excited about it, as weed is still illegal there.

Fun Fact: the biggest import market for illegal drugs in the U.S. is Omaha. That corn doesn’t pick itself, you know. Devi’s daughter Mara (Lily Gladstone) is working the harvest before college starts, along with Casey (Cameron James Matthews) and Josh (Frank Mosley). Josh thinks Devi should branch out to connections even further east, but she is satisfied with the midwest market.

“Josh thinks Devi should branch out to connections even further east…”

Then the county issues Devi an abatement for growing illegally with fines galore. She meets with a consultant (George Parras), who recommends she give it up. The permit application costs for going legal in California are astronomical, with no guarantee of getting one. Devi decides to try for legal, sinking all of her stashed cash into the attempt. However, the county abatement ended up in the local paper for everyone to see.

Suddenly the Nebraska connection dries up. Devi has the best weed on the planet with no way to sell it due to the regulations of the legal market. So she and her old hippie buddy Ray (John Craven) go out to the ruins of their old commune, Freeland, to look backward once last time, as there is no clear way forward. With all her money tied up in regulation and no money to pay her workers, Devi starts making desperate moves.