Never Get Busted!

A Texan narc turns maverick decriminalisation activist in this outrageous, colourful, hugely compelling saga set amid America’s drug and culture wars.

Barry Cooper was a Texan narcotics officer during the height of the US ‘war on drugs’ in the 1990s, arresting countless small-time users. But in an inspired ideological pivot, Cooper changed his life, attempting to atone for his past by calling out crooked cops, distributing DVDs instructing users on how to outsmart law enforcement and, in the process, transforming into a countercultural thorn in the establishment’s side – all in the heart of red state America.

MIFF Premiere Fund alum (as the producer of Rabbit, MIFF 2017) David Anthony Ngo helms this Australian production blessed with impressive international credentials, including executive producers John Battsek (The Australian Dream, MIFF 2019) and Chris Smith (Tiger King; DEVO, MIFF 2024). In a wildly entertaining documentary chronicle of “cloak-and-dagger, Breaking Bad, Ozark shit” centred on one outsized personality, Cooper is given space to tell the story from his perspective – along with those on both sides of the law who’ve crossed paths with him along the way.

“Never Get Busted! is a social commentary, shedding light on the complexities of morality, justice, and redemption … It’s also very funny.” – Irresistible Magazine