MIT Lecture Series Committee

unrated
70 minutes

view trailer

format: mini DV

The Achievers: The Story of the Lebowski Fans (2009)

FREE for MIT card holders! This film is shown in conjunction with The Big Lebowski at LSC, and Boston Lebowskifest. Admission for the general public is $8. Followed by a Q&A with director Eddie Chung, and the chance to WIN FREE TICKETS to the Boston Lebowskifest screening and bowling party!

From the producers of Dogtown & Z-Boys and Riding Giants comes the long-awaited documentary of Joel and Ethan Coen's The Big Lebowski, the first cult film of the digital age.

While vending at a tatoo convention in 2002, Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt began quoting lines from The Big Lebowski and felt an instant bond with others who quoted back; in a matter of seconds the idea of a festival began. "The concept was simple: gather fans in a bowling alley and let them loose to bowl, drink White Russians, dress in costume and watch the movie together."

The documentary chronicles the first festival and how this one day event became an international phenomenon attracting thousands and selling out venues from Louisville to London. Director Eddie Chung takes a five year look at the festival and its attendees, known as Achievers, a name which is self-applied, chronicling the development of lifelong friendships and extraordinary behavior at the festival, which in itself has become a show.

Told through a compelling combination of interviews, festival footage and clips from The Big Lebowski, The Achievers: The Story of the Lebowski Fans is an engrossing and hilarious documentary film. [theachieversmovie.com]

Sometimes, a documentary is a documentary. But sometimes, dude, it's a reflection of the world at large.
      -- Linda Cook, Quad City TImes. Read this review.