Asia doesn’t necessarily seem like an obvious touring route for Australian bands. The USA and the UK seem to be commonly recognised as the holy grail. But given our miserable dollar, The Other Option couldn’t have come at a better time. 

Unbeknownst to most of us, there has been an ongoing relationship between Australia and South East Asia’s music scenes for many decades now and this new documentary peeks into a world of punk rock that few knew even existed. The Other Option features stories from Warsore, Pisschrist, Miles Away and Michael Crafter as they share their experiences touring the region over the last fifteen years.

Compiled by a music fan with no budget, crowd funding and limited experience, the film’s producer explored the topic when he found out that several local bands were managing to play in the region with not just notable but legitimately emphatic responses from local audiences. The doco explores the underlying reasons for the explosion of punk and hardcore bands touring the region, beyond the budget airlines, low-cost touring and instant online booking.

Put it on your Christmas list.

Physical copies of The Other Option will be available at selected independent record stores (Beatdisc, Resist, Clarity, Heartland etc.) as well as online at otheroptionfilm.com.