Montreal-based filmmaker Ian Lagarde’s feature-fiction debut, All You Can Eat Buddha, is a story primarily about miracles, whether they come in the form of a perpetually hungry man or a giant telepathic octopus.
Vacationer and diabetic Mike arrives at the all-inclusive Palacio Hotel on an unnamed island with one overarching intention: to eat. He does just that—silently without expression—and the staff and tourists around him take notice. They pay Mike even more attention when he begins performing small miracles around the island, such as saving a giant octopus from a fisherman’s net and releasing it back into the sea. Combined with his mysterious yet endearing persona, Mike’s presence inspires those around him to wonder if the man may not be a man at all, but something more divine.
Lagarde expertly crafts a singular, and sometimes trippy, resort world replete with deadpan humor and enigmatic proceedings culminating in an apocalyptic vision that should fortify his position as a formative talent to watch.
Director Biography
Based in Montreal, French-Canadian cinematographer Ian Lagarde studied film production at Concordia University and has worked on four films, including Solar Wind (‘11), Board (‘12) and American Savannah (‘09). All You Can Eat Buddha (‘17) is his first feature-length film.
Sponsored by:
