To celebrate the Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival of NEVER GET BUSTED!, the utterly compelling documentary about narco-officer turned activist Barry Cooper, I talked with co-director David Anthony Ngo about this true American original, who subjects either "love, hate or have never met."
Synopsis:
Written and directed by Australia’s David Anthony Ngo, director Stephen McCallum and produced by Erin Williams-Weir and Daniel Joyce, Never Get Busted! is the utterly compelling story of Barry Cooper, a highly decorated Texas narcotics officer - until he turned on the police force, busting crooked cops and teaching drug users how to hide their stash. Never Get Busted! is a high-octane, no-holds-barred documentary into the world of drugs, seen through the life of a man who has experienced all sides of the Drug War. Taking more than six years to make, and with filming across nine States of America, Mexico, the Philippines and Australia, the story takes the audience into covertly filmed police corruption, scenes of religious fervour, Hollywood pitch meetings, and the ultimate downfall of one of America's most brazen activists. In personal home videos, clandestine recordings, Barry’s own police dash cam footage, prime-time news, and present-day interviews, we see his story unravel in a form of macabre and exhilarating entertainment.
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