Bombay Beach. Film. 2011.

A film by Alma Har'el.

Bombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination. The story follows three protagonists: The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang in LA; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on whiskey and cigarettes. Together these portraits form a triptych of manhood in America. True to her roots as a photographer, video artist, and music video director, Har'el has crafted an artistically innovative film with music by Beirut and Bob Dylan.