VOD Spotlight: Under the Electric Sky

Under the Electric Sky chronicles the life, love, community and passion of festivalgoers attending the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas. The film follows the compelling stories of fans journeying from all parts of the world to experience the wonder of EDC. Live performance footage, behind-the-scenes access and exclusive interviews reveal what has made this three-night, 345,000-person event a global phenomenon. UnderElectSky_web

According to co-director Dan Cutforth, “We felt like there was a plethora of movies out there that documented different DJs and they all felt kind of the same. We didn’t feel like anyone had done a film where you felt like you got to experience what the fans are experiencing. We were quite inspired by the Woodstock movie, that sort of rounded view of what the event was but with more of a focus on the fans and the people that were there and actually experienced it.”

Jane Lipsitz, co-director of the film, adds, “We had just worked on two movies back-to-back where the focus was very singular (Justin Bieber’s story and then Katy Perry’s), and so we knew we wanted to tell a different type of story. EDM [Electronic Dance Music] seemed to be everywhere we turned, and we spoke to our agents about finding us a project in that space.”

Cutforth continues, “We definitely tried to think of the movie like a musical in the sense that the songs tell some of the story; I think that the lyric of that song, ‘All the time I was finding myself and I didn’t know that I was lost,’ was kind of the story of a lot of these characters [in the film].”

Lipsitz says, “I think the message of the film is that everyone belongs, no matter who you are. And so it was really important to represent completely different people to illustrate that all of these unique characters who would probably never cross paths in any other place in their whole lives can come together and share this experience together and it’s all completely normal.

“We definitely set out to make a movie that was not just specifically for the fans of EDM or for people who had been to the Electric Daisy Carnival. We tried to tell a story about characters, rich characters having universal experiences such as love, friendship, dealing with loss and anxiety, and of course group marriage. Stories that you could follow from beginning to end, whether or not you love this music or have never heard it before.”

Under the Electric Sky is available Sept. 2 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

© 2014 Focus Features. Credit: E. Kabik