In March, we learned that the rights to the documentary feature winner of the 2014 SXSW Film Festival, Print the Legend, had been acquired by everyone’s favorite paid video streaming service and ISP irritant, Netflix. Those of you who are as excited about the film as I am can now rest easy knowing that it’s only a month away from its big debut. Set your Netflix account to record (?) because Print the Legend will be released on September 26.
The documentary uses two leading 3D printing start-ups, MakerBot and Formlabs, as its protagonists, who represent the trials and tribulations of ushering in the new manufacturing revolution. In bringing their desktop 3D printers to market, the two companies must deal with 3D printing juggernauts Stratasys and 3D Systems. Though many of our readers know how at least one of those stories played out, the film stands for more than the tales of the two small manufacturers. These protagonists symbolise the American Dream 2.0 with MakerBot and Formlabs bringing a new technology and mindset to the market to build up their own dreams. To better get an intuitive feel for this symbolism, look at these animated .gifs I made of Formlabs celebrating their success and Bre Pettis unveiling the original Replicator. Now, do you feel it?
For any documentary film buffs: the filmmakers responsible for Print the Legend include Chad Troutwine, producer of Freakonomics, who financed and produced the film. Audax Films’ Andrew and Walter Kortschak, of Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia, acted as Co-Producer and Executive Producer, respectively, on Print the Legend. The film was directed by Luis Lopez and J. Clay Tweel, from The King of Kong, who will be making their writing debuts on the film, along with Steven Klein.
I’m super psyched to see the movie and plan to have a small viewing party with my wife and bearded dragon on September 26. Hey, maybe you’ll even read a review of the film up on our site! To tide you over until the big day, watch the trailer again:
