Best Served Cold: How a Revenge Film Was Buried for Decades

DATE: Saturday, August 15
TIME: 1:00PM
VENUE: Gateway Theater Fort Lauderdale

DIRECTOR ERIC ZALDIVAR WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE EVENT!

BEST SERVED COLD: HOW A REVENGE FILM WAS BURIED FOR DECADES is the wildly entertaining, stranger-than-fiction saga of THE FARMER (1977), a forgotten independent revenge thriller that vanished into obscurity only to become one of the most sought-after cult films of the 21st century. What begins as a film-history mystery soon explodes into a jaw-dropping odyssey filled with Hollywood legends (Paul Schrader!), collector obsession, industry absurdity, and twists so unbelievable you’ll swear they were scripted.

Through rare archival discoveries and candid interviews with filmmakers, actors, historians, critics, and devoted fans, the documentary unravels the bizarre chain of events that kept THE FARMER locked away for decades. Along the way are stories involving a production accident that altered the course of Martin Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER, battles with combative distributors, a cast member later convicted of murder, and an infamous confrontation that somehow ended with Clint Eastwood throwing punches.

But nothing—and we mean nothing—can prepare you for the film’s most jaw-dropping revelation: the story of the eccentric distributor who spent years sitting on THE FARMER while seemingly inventing new and increasingly baffling ways to keep it out of circulation. Equal parts comedy, mystery, and trainwreck you can’t look away from, it’s the kind of tale that leaves audiences asking, “How is this real?” The answer is simple: somehow, unbelievably, every outrageous moment actually happened.