Mudding is not only a sport in which people in trucks drive around swamps and quagmires. For many rednecks (that’s how they proudly call themselves) from Florida it’s a lifestyle, an opportunity to celebrate their worldview, their attachment to land, family and recently, to president Trump. “Mud is like a drug to me. Better than doing drugs,” says Matthew Burns, mudding legend and a protagonist of Red, White & Wasted. The filmmakers are more interested in Matthew’s life, and the life of his two daughters, than in peeking at mudding competitions. By watching the everyday life of Burns family, Jones I Schwartz try to understand phenomenon of the American South—a region which still resents the Northeast, which still cultivates Confederate traditions, a region that does not hide its racism and xenophobia, but also a region that was put to test by the economic crisis and exploitative business of big corporations. It’s a must-see documentary, especially if you read J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy or Matthew Desmond’s Evicted.
Both are cinematographers and directors. Schwartz worked e.g. on The Polka King with Jack Black and Wakefield with Bryan Cranston, as well as Pose second season. Their company, Kidshow, specializes in production of music videos and advertisements. Red, White & Wasted is their first feature documentary. The film debuted at Tribeca Film Festival.
2017 Red, White & Wasted (short)
2019 Red, White & Wasted (doc.)