(ENSPIRE Feature) Watch on DVD and Digital October 18
ENSPIRE Contributor: Perry Merse
Announced this Tuesday, Bitcon is an ultra-modern take on the heist movie, launching the genre into the very latest of the 21st century. Directed by Matt Osterman, the film tells the story of a couple searching for a missing hard drive containing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency stored inside it.
The film follows Ty (Noah Anderson) and Jess (Ella Ma), an obvious power couple searching for the aforementioned precious cargo for the shady-but-also-nerdy Lew (Jeremy Davies). Commenting on his goal for the story, Osterman writes, “Technology is our trojan horse to tell a redemptive story of flawed, marginalized, and smart characters all vying for a better life.” Using streaming and cryptocurrency as the platform, Osterman is able to blend a modern and diverse cast with a disruptive technology to tell a compelling and up-to-date story.
Bitcon’s trailer was released via Osterman’s and Bitcon’s Twitter accounts. It continuously weaves through suspense and throws the viewer back into action with Ty, who always ends up right at the center of attention. It makes use of language familiar with blockchain enthusiasts, such as “tumbling” and even ends with a nod to Bitcoin mining (and its consequent dilemma of high energy usage).
On his vision for the film, Osterman states, “The story was originally inspired when I heard about the poor bloke who lost a hard drive with 8000 bitcoins on it now worth hundreds of millions of USD.” This idea stems from the saying “Not your keys, not your coins” which is popular among Bitcoiners.
Bitcon is released at a time that many are referring to as the crypto winter, with the price of Bitcoin floating around $20k – well below its all-time high of just below $69k. It’s not only the price of Bitcoin that fell; many altcoins (coins other than Bitcoin) have also seen a sharp decrease in value, while others have even collapsed altogether. Take Terra, for example. The coin was de-pegged from the dollar and was worth only a few cents by May 12. Putting the coins themselves aside, entire exchanges have faced trouble as well, such as the Celsius Network. The firm recently declared bankruptcy this July after freezing any withdrawals from its network the month before.
The film is set to release digitally and to DVD on October 18.
