Abel Raises Cain

"Abel Raises Cain" is an unprecedented glimpse into the life and bizarre career of Alan Abel, the infamous underground media prankster. He has made a name for himself several times over with stunts that are just ridiculous enough to be believable, especially to a media that feeds on salacious, far-fetched stories.

In this loving portrait of an eccentric father, Alan's daughter, Jenny, tells her firsthand account of what it was like growing up with a prankster. "Abel Raises Cain" takes the audience on a roller coaster ride through the myriad of elaborate hoaxes and schemes that Abel pulled off over the years, all of which were designed to provoke and amuse...while at the same time, make people question everything that they see, hear and read.

Awards

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary - Slamdance Film Festival
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary - Brooklyn Underground Film Festival
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary - Newport International Film Festival
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary - Aarhus Festival of Independent Arts
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary - Hardacre Film & Cinema Festival
Top 10 Audience Favorite - Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival
Kinowelt DVD Award - Leipzig Animation & Documentary Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Documentary - Sarasota Film Festival

Reviews

"An invigorating and often hysterical look at a gifted comic and the nation of dupes he continues to use as his medium" - Joe Keohane, Slate.com

"A humorous and highly personal documentary" - Robert W. Welkos, Los Angeles Times

"Like a reverse Jon Stewart, Abel has been creating fake news...preying on mainstream media's insatiable thirst for the lurid, the perverse, and the wacky" - David Nanasi, PBS POV blog

"ABEL RAISES CAIN has the subject of the decade, a world-champion 'hoaxer' who has been fearlessly plying his odd trade for over fifty years" - Glenn Erickson, DVD Savant

"Long before the Yes Men satirized Exxon and Halliburton, and before Ashton Kutcher was born, Alan Abel was the undisputed king of media hoaxers" - Bennett Gordon, UTNE Reader

"ABEL RAISES CAIN covers four decades of hoaxes and paints a fascinating picture of a fascinating character" - Eric Herboth, Lost At Sea

"A rather brilliant portrayal of a true American original who probably hasn't gotten his due" - Jake Meaney, Popmatters

"An impressive debut...a heartfelt, interesting and, above all, entertaining film" - Steven Snyder, Minnesota Daily

"Intriguing, affectionate...a very funny documentary" - Michael Janusonis, Providence Journal

"A lively, bittersweet portrait of the master prankster's career" - Saul Austerlitz, New York Press

"A fun and fascinating look at an American original" - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A sweet funny tribute...makes the case that [Alan Abel] deserves to be more than a cultural footnote" - Toronto Eye

"An exhilarating and lovingly-made documentary" - Kevin Griffin, Vancouver Sun

"A loving portrait of an eccentric father" - Brendan Kiley, The Stranger

Screenings

San Francisco International Film Festival
Silverdocs AFI/Discover Channel Documentary Festival
International Documentary Film Festival Mexico City
International Documentary Film Festival New Zealand
Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival
Longbaugh Film Festival
Independent Film Festival of Boston
Doxa Documentary Film + Video Festival
Waterfront Film Festival
Dallas Video Festival
Athens International Film Festival
Camden International Film Festival
Leeds International Film Festival