Eli Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Appian Way Productions, and QC Entertainment (Get Out, Us) will pull back the curtain on the contemporary deathcare industry in Death Boom, Deadline reports.
Directed by Jessica Chandler, the exposé documentary is currently in post-production. Roth serves as narrator, in addition to producing.
Shown through the lens of the workers at the heart of it as they prepare for the passing of 77 million baby boomers, the film exposes the toll that embalming, cremation, and traditional burial have on those who’ve passed, their families, and deathcare workers.
The doc also examines the corruption – political, religious, and corporate – that stands in opposition to greener methods being nationally legalized and accessible. It ultimately shows what is possible if these green methods are put into wider practice while working toward normalizing conversations around death and grief.
Death Bloom is described as a “spiritual follow-up” to Fin, the 2021 shark-finning documentary on which Roth and Appian Way previously collaborated.
DiCaprio produces with Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson for Appian Way. Raymond Mansfield and Sean McKittrick produce for QC Entertainment, with Edward H. Hamm, Jr executive producing.
“Jessica Chandler and I have wanted to make this film for over 20 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,” said Roth. “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.”
Roth 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.”
“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,” added Davisson. “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.”
“Jessica has made a powerful documentary that confronts the real costs of how we handle death in America while illuminating solutions that already exist,” commented McKittrick, Mansfield and Hamm. “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.”
QC Entertainment will represent the film alongside WME Independent.