2026 Official Selection: Featurette – Documentary
Turn Off the Machines follows Ethan Hughes, a radical homesteader in mid-coast Maine who lives entirely without electricity, global supply chains, or modern technological comforts.
Program: Turn Off The Machines · Sun, Aug 23, 2026 · 2:00 PM
- Director(s): Joseph El-Khoury, Muhammad Yusuf Khattak
- Producer(s): Joseph El-Khoury, Muhammad Yusuf Khattak, Jack Ruefli
- Key Cast: Ethan Hughes
Language: English
Runtime: 42m
Country: United States
World Premiere
Synopsis: Turn Off the Machines follows Ethan Hughes, a radical homesteader in mid-coast Maine who lives entirely without electricity, global supply chains, or modern technological comforts. Raised in Gloucester to working class parents, an early tragedy shattered a happy childhood and set him on a path of radical resistance. Living deliberately below the poverty line, Ethan’s life is not a retreat but a protest against capitalism, war, and ecological collapse. The film explores his convictions, his family’s daily rhythms, and the tensions that arise when belief meets the demands of life.