NAKED GARDENS
Director(s): Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan
Film description: A visually stunning narrative documentary, NAKED GARDENS immerses audiences in the complex, unseen world of a family nudist resort in the Florida Everglades. Filmed over one season at this lush tropical campsite, the film follows the stories of individuals drawn to an unusual community, which promises both non-conformist values and, more importantly for some, a cheap place to live.
Programmers notes: In Naked Gardens, filmmaking duo Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan (Pahokee, Sundance 2019) create a portrait of rebellious retirees, LGBTQ loners, exiles from conservative America, and families with young children, all of whom have decided to make this nudist resort their home. The filmmakers earned the trust of this community by shooting with a small and often unclothed crew, and presented the community as they wish their bodies to be seen: without black bars, blurring, or other forms of body-shaming censorship. Taking us inside community meetings, basketball games, holiday celebrations, and moments of profound self-reflection, Naked Gardens is a funny, poignant, provocative, and definitely non-erotic portrait of a proudly eccentric community.
Writer(s): Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan
Producer(s): Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan, Tabs Breese, Julia Nottingham, Roberto Minervini, Denise Ping Lee
Editor(s): Ivete Lucas
Cinematographer(s): Patrick Bresnan
Country of origin: USA
Principal cast: Jeremy, Makayla, Jamie, Gretchen, Darlene and Morley
Language: English
Year: 2022
Duration: 90 minutes
Premiere status: Maryland premiere
