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The Big White House

A Montecito house on lower Olive Mill Road with a misfit family that came from poverty. The kids of the neighborhood infested the house with wild antics, creativity and athletic talent. Filmed over 15 years, the film encapsulates the rise and fall of a house that brought together the youth of a wealthy yet torn community.

  • Chris Riel
    Director
  • Chris Riel
    Key Cast
  • Aubrey Wright
    Key Cast
  • Adam Lambert
    Key Cast
  • Owen Scheid
    Key Cast
  • Tam Chase
    Key Cast
  • Ian Watson
    Key Cast
  • Jordan Goldberg
    Key Cast
  • Barbara Garner
    Key Cast
  • Ted Garner
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Action, Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 7 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Dances With Films Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    June 23, 2024
    Los Angeles Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Chris Riel

Chris Riel makes his directorial debut with “The Big White House.”
Filmed over a timespan of 20 years, the film derives from a childhood of videotaping wild antics and stunts with the neighborhood kids of one of the wealthiest communities in the world. After coming from poverty, Chris and his family move to Montecito and open the doors to The Big White House as a sanctuary like never land to any "lost" boys and girls. In his career, Chris has acquired over 2 Billion views on his edited and produced content for top influencers over the last 5 years. With his finger directly on the pulse of todays internet culture he aimed to develop a film that matches todays "quick intake style" while also creating nostalgia. Entirely produced, written, edited and directed from start to end, Chris covers the emotional spectrum with his first feature film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

At the start, I had no goal, I was sitting on literally thousands of hours of footage from 15 years of our childhoods. I knew what we had gotten our selves into was entertaining but I didn't know the story until I went looking. After 5 years of sifting through footage and compiling interviews, I have found a story that is amazingly heart felt and relatable as well as an exciting one of daredevils and stunts. It leans heavily on the juxtaposition that we were acting like jack asses amongst the elite class.
The process, being my first, was not a clean one. I moved forward one percent more than I moved backward while cutting the film. As I knew, except for the interviews and b-roll, that this film would be entirely done in post production, I had to log and label every clip in my possession. I'm proud to say that the hours behind the screen left me with a completed vision and a film that America can relate to.