Crestone

In a world that undulates between the digital and physical, a group of SoundCloud rappers live a solitary, post-societal existence in the desert town of Crestone, Colorado. Once a religious and spiritual mecca for many, Crestone’s endless sand dunes, waterfalls, and dark caves act as a backdrop for images of tattooed bodies, cosplay wardrobes, and clouds of weed smoke. When an old friend from high school visits the rappers to shoot music videos and document their day-to-day, reality and fiction begin to blur. A rapidly spreading wildfire sends everyone into varying states of emergency. Technology begins to fail. A man on an electric bicycle appears with a warning of the end times. Are the last people alive a group of SoundCloud rappers, smoking weed, and making music for nobody?

CRESTONE explores the hidden aspects of collaboration and friendship, as well as the human desire to persist against all odds. What does music sound like if there is no one left to repost and share it? Marnie Ellen Hertzler's feature debut is a time capsule of how separation and connection intertwine in the digital age.