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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BROWN BUFFALO

"The flyest history lesson since Hamilton."
- Remezcla

"Astonishing" and "A Must See Film"
- Salon

"Brilliant, original and genre-bending"
"It isn't typical PBS fare (welcome young people)."
​- Latino Rebels

"Remarkable, informs, entertains, filling your mind with challenging, provocative ideas."
- Sacramento Bee

"Fascinating"
- NBC News

"Genre-defying"
L.A. Taco

"Larger than life"
- People Magazine

From Executive Producer Benicio Del Toro

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BROWN BUFFALO is a fresh and genre-defying film about the life of radical Chicano lawyer, author and countercultural icon, Oscar Zeta Acosta — the basis for the character Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by his friend, legendary journalist-provocateur Hunter S. Thompson.

The film is executive produced by Academy-Award winning actor Benicio Del Toro. Del Toro portrayed Acosta in the 1998 cult film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" opposite Johnny Depp who portrayed Thompson.

The author of two groundbreaking autobiographical novels, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A BROWN BUFFALO and THE REVOLT OF THE COCKROACH PEOPLE Acosta’s powerful literary voice, brash courtroom style and notorious revolutionary antics made him a revered figure within the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 70s and offered one of the most brazen assaults on the status quo and white supremacy seen at the time. Yet Acosta is more known for his turn as Thompson’s bumbling sidekick in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas than for his own work exposing racial bias, hypocrisy and repression within the California justice system.

Channeling the spirit of the psychedelic 60s and the joyful irreverence of “Gonzo” journalism, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BROWN BUFFALO shows Acosta’s personal and creative evolution playing out against the backdrop of a society in turmoil. From his origins in segregated rural California, to his stint as a Baptist missionary in the jungles of Panama, to his radicalization in the Chicano movement of the late 60s, and finally to his mysterious disappearance off the coast of Mexico in 1974, director Rodriguez offers a vision of a complex figure at once wholly unique, and emblematic of a generation.

Relevant now more than ever, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BROWN BUFFALO explores issues of racial identity, criminal justice, politics and media representation, while revealing the personal story of a troubled but brilliant man coming to terms with his identity and finding meaning in the struggles of his people.

The film also includes cameo scenes with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who plays a judge, questioning Acosta’s business card featuring the Aztec God Huitzilopochtli, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, playing a judge whose lawn is set on fire by Acosta.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is the major funder of the film. Additional funding is provided by Latino Public Broadcasting, California Humanities and The Office of Los Angeles City Councilman Gilbert Cedillo. The film is produced by Rodriguez’s Los Angeles-based production company, City Projects, LLC.

  • Phillip Rodriguez
    Director
    Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, RACE 2012, Latinos '08, Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream, Los Angeles Now, Mixed Feelings: San Diego/Tijuana, Manuel Ocampo: God is My Copilot, and Pancho Villa & Other Stories
  • Phillip Rodriguez
    Writer
    Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, RACE 2012, Latinos '08, Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream, Los Angeles Now, Mixed Feelings: San Diego/Tijuana, Manuel Ocampo: God is My Copilot, and Pancho Villa & Other Stories
  • David Ventura
    Writer
  • Benicio Del Toro, Executive Producer
    Producer
    Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Traffic, Avengers: Infinity War, 21 Grams, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Guardians of the Galaxy, Sicario
  • Alison Sotomayor
    Producer
    Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race, The New Los Angeles, Sal Castro & the 1968 East Los Angeles Walkouts, Heroes in the Hood: Father Gregory Boyle, Vikki Carr: A Biography, Life & Times (TV series)
  • Ricardo Lopez
    Producer
    Latino
  • Jesse Celedon (Oscar Zeta Acosta)
    Key Cast
    Soledad, Stage 5
  • Jeff Harms (Hunter S. Thompson)
    Key Cast
    Oceans Rising, Rockstar Games
  • Claudio Rocha, Cinematographer
    CAMERA
    The Whole Wide World, Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, RACE 2012, Brown in the New Green, Latinos '08, Los Angeles Now, No Más Bebés, Kingdom of Shadows, Principio y Fin, The Mexican Suitcase, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Roberto Clemente, Two Tickets to Paradise
  • Rafael Cardenas, Still Photographer
    CAMERA
    MAS ACA: Further Here
  • Kyle McLane, Sound Mixer
    SOUND
    Kandiyohi, Man Eating Plants, Truth or Dare, The Scientist, Death Camp, Xin
  • Andrew Vasquez, Boom Operator
    SOUND
    Destiny Project, Unsung Heroes, Terminado El Ciclo, Duendes Gone Bad, Spoken Movement
  • Diego Castellanos, Grip
    ELECTRICAL
    Fuel Junkie, Always Remember, Paradox, Room 731, Stranger's Relative
  • Joe Oosthuizen, Art Director
    ART DEPARTMENT
    Beauty, Outcast, Winter's Dream
  • Delarey Wagener, Assistant Props
    ART DEPARTMENT
    Ali, Flight of the Phoenix, Catch a Fire, Donkey Punch, You Can't Have It, Hitting the Breaks
  • Ron Wolek, Key Makeup & Hair & FX
    MAKEUP & HAIR
    Keeping up with the Joneses, The Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries, Satisfaction, Finding Carter, American Genius, Walt Disney Christmas Parade Special (various)
  • Thomas Lick, Makeup & Hair Assistant
    MAKEUP & HAIR
  • Vanessa Gonzalez, Costume Designer
    COSTUME
    Carlos, Rey Emperador; The Avengers, Isabel, Deadly Pursuit, Our Robocop Remake
  • Tashi Fay, Wardrobe Assistant
    COSTUME
  • Amanda Siegel, Production Assistant
    PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE
    Really Friendly Men, Major Lazer, Axe Cop, Stone Quakers
  • Claudio Rocha, Editor, Animator
    POST PRODUCTION
    The Whole Wide World, Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, RACE 2012, Brown in the New Green, Latinos '08, Los Angeles Now, No Más Bebés, Kingdom of Shadows, Principio y Fin, The Mexican Suitcase, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, Roberto Clemente, Two Tickets to Paradise
  • Marc Cardenas, Assistant Editor
    POST PRODUCTION
    The Id, What We Can't Have, The Ringing
  • Jed Lackritz
    POST PRODUCTION
    We Live In Public, I am Divine, Join Us, Breaking the Maya Code
  • Michael Sanford, Casting Director
    CASTING
    Gene Simmons: Family Jewels, Soaked in Bleach, Mosquita y Mari, The Artist
  • Jesse Celedon: Oscar Zeta Acosta
    CAST
  • Jeff Harms: Hunter S. Thompson
    CAST
  • Alejandro Cohen
    COMPOSERS
  • Aaron Drake
    COMPOSERS
  • Rose Portillo
    Narrator
    Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Television
  • Genres:
    Activism, Biographical, Historical
  • Runtime:
    60 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 5, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    500,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • San Francisco Latino Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    September 16, 2017
    West Coast Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Orange County Film Festival
    Santa Ana, CA
    United States
    October 7, 2017
    Orange County, CA Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Fall for the Book Festival
    Fairfax, VA
    United States
    October 11, 2017
  • SWSW Film Festival
    Austin, Texas
    United States
    March 10, 2018
  • Native Women in Film Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    February 27, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Red Nation Film Festival
    Santa Fe, New Mexico
    United States
    August 14, 2018
  • Red National Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 5, 2018
  • La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 9, 2018
  • GonzoFest
    Louisville, Kentucky
    United States
    April 14, 2018
  • Conference on Chicano Historiography, and the Historical Novel: Out of Many, One
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    April 7, 2018
  • San Diego Latino Film Festival
    San Diego, CA
    United States
    February 13, 2018
    Official Selection
  • West Hollywood Human Rights Speakers Series
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 14, 2018
  • Arizona State University College of Public Service & Community Solutions
    Tempe, Arizona
    United States
    October 16, 2017
  • West Los Angeles Community College
    West Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    November 15, 2017
  • Civic Center Studios
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 26, 2018
  • Calle 24 Paseo Artístico
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    April 14, 2018
  • San Diego State University
    Calexico, CA
    United States
    April 26, 2018
  • Murales Rebeldes! Film Series
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    June 5, 2018
  • XicanIndie Film Festival
    Denver, CO
    United States
    March 5, 2018
    Official Selection
  • March on Washington Film Festival
    Washington, DC
    United States
    July 14, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Chambal International Film Festival
    Chambal
    India
    January 12, 2019
    Best Director
  • Olympia Film Festival
    Olympia, WA
    United States
    November 15, 2018
  • Phenomena Film Festival
    Sao Paolo
    Brazil
    November 7, 2018
  • Royal Starr Film Festival
    Royal Oak, Michigan
    United States
    October 14, 2018
  • Queen Palm Film Festival - August Edition
    Palm Springs, California
    United States
    August 17, 2018
    Silver - Best Documentary
  • Awareness Film Festival
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    October 7, 2018
    Best Documentary
  • Guam International Film Festival
    Hagatna
    Guam
    October 25, 2018
    Asia
  • Borderlands Film Festiva
    Las Cruces, New Mexico
    United States
    October 3, 2018
  • Fimucinema - Fimucité, Spain
    Tenerife
    Spain
    September 30, 2018
    Spain
  • Cine Odyssey Film Festival
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    United States
    July 14, 2018
    North Carolina
Distribution Information
  • PBS
    Country: United States
Director Biography - Phillip Rodriguez

Phillip Rodriguez is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and veteran content provider for PBS. His films bring to light the complexities of Latino culture, history, and identity at a time when our nation’s demographics reflect unprecedented growth in the Latino community and the concomitant demand for relevant storytelling.

Rodriguez’s investigative documentary "Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle" explores the life and mysterious death of the pioneering journalist, and won Best Documentary at the 2014 San Antonio CineFestival and the 2014 Denver XicanIndie Festival. "RACE 2012: A conversation About Race and Politics in America" was awarded a 2013 CINE Golden Eagle Award in the Best Televised News Division – Informational/Current Issue category. "Latinos ’08" received a 2009 CINE Golden Eagle Award for Best News Analysis. "Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream" was awarded the 2008 Imagen Award for Best TV Documentary.

Rodriguez’s other critically acclaimed films include "Los Angeles Now", "Mixed Feelings: San Diego/Tijuana", "Manuel Ocampo: God is My Copilot", and "Pancho Villa & Other Stories".

In 2006, Rodriguez received the first annual United States Artists Broad Fellow Award, which honors the country's finest living artists.

A graduate of U.C. Berkeley, he has an M.A. in Latin American Studies (Honors) and an M.F.A. in Film and Television from UCLA. Currently, Rodriguez is a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“I do not want to live in a world without brown buffalos.”

- Oscar Zeta Acosta
"The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo"