Garrett Patten's 'Self Custody' Reveals Dual Perspectives on Bitcoin, Featuring Adrien Grenier and Henry.

      “Self Custody,” a cleverly crafted and humorously intense thriller directed by Garrett Patten, who also stars in it, effectively highlights both the positive and negative aspects of Bitcoin.

      The positive aspect of Bitcoin is its nature as a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency, free from government tracing and regulation.

      The negative aspect of Bitcoin, however, is the same: it is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency that is untraceable and not governed by any regulation.

      “Self Custody” explores both sides, though it leans more heavily toward the negative. The film is inspired by the annual losses of millions of dollars in Bitcoin due to fraud or simple forgetfulness. The title reflects the reality that Bitcoin holders are entirely responsible for their assets.

      The film was showcased during a special screening at SXSW on Saturday night, where Patten participated in a post-film Q&A with Adrien Grenier, a veteran of Entourage, who plays a significant and intriguing role in “Self Custody” as a detached chaos agent, along with two-time UFC champion Henry Cejudo, who appears later in the film, demonstrating his fierce presence both on screen and in the ring. Odette Annable also delivers a compelling performance.

      Patten describes the 31-minute film as more of a micro-feature than a short film, and it is currently available on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Plex. Patten, in the lead role of Scott, portrays a father and business owner facing financial difficulties. He believes he has found a solution when a friend and adviser (Michael Monks) informs him that he possesses a significant Bitcoin fortune from a signing bonus he received over a decade ago.

      However, there’s a catch: Scott must remember his old PIN code and a seed phrase to access his funds. Things take a turn for the worse from there.

      TBK Productions

      Both Grenier and Cejudo shared on Saturday that they eagerly joined the film due to their friendship with Patten. Grenier also has a personal connection to Bitcoin; he identifies as a Bitcoin maxi, a term for those who believe in Bitcoin’s superiority over other cryptocurrencies.

      When the audience asked him to explain “maxi,” Grenier humorously responded: “That’s someone who believes in Bitcoin above all other crypto, or s— coins. That’s a technical term, you know. There are two sides of the coin, or Bitcoin.”

      After a moment of laughter from the audience, he continued: “It’s a pure technology that’s actually like digital gold, while other coins tend to have many backdoors. You can't actually access Bitcoin, and that's an intentional feature because of its checks and balances. In contrast, other cryptocurrencies are just fancy applications or websites.”

      Sounds good? Here comes the downside again. Patten shared that there are drawbacks to all those checks and balances, which prompted him to create “Self Custody” after a friend lost millions in Bitcoin due to his inability to access it.

      “A friend who lost his job discovered that he had been gifted crypto in the past, and he embarked on a journey to recover it,” Patten explained.

      During his research for the film, which he co-directed with Fernando Ferro, Patten learned about numerous incidents of individuals losing hundreds of millions in Bitcoin.

      Garrett Patten on Filming ‘Self Custody’ in Austin

      Garrett Patten, Adrien Grenier – Credit: Mark Sagliocco/Shutterstock

      The screening in Austin on Saturday, hosted at the stunning Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Mueller, marked a return to the film’s roots shot in the heart of SXSW. The movie boasts impressive production values, which Patten attributes to his Austin-based crew.

      “For an indie film, it feels more like a feature, and that’s all due to the crew,” he stated. “You can’t replicate that in every city. I’ve filmed in many locations, but Austin has a lot to offer.”

      (He also spoke about the advantages of filming in Austin during a recent Sundance panel discussing the best places to live and work as a filmmaker.)

      Grenier, who resides locally, expressed his delight to be able to shoot close to home.

      “I’m a strong supporter of the Austin film market and Texas as a whole,” he remarked. “I want to work on projects within this region. Selfishly, I want to be able to return home to my family after a day of shooting, and with the $1.5 billion incentive now being provided by the Texas government, I believe we’ll see an uptick in projects being developed here.”

      The Cast of ‘Self Custody’

      (L-R) Moderator Mia Galuppo with “Self Custody” stars Henry Cejudo, Garrett Patten, Adrien Grenier, and Michael Monks.

      Patten has primarily worked behind the scenes previously, producing films such as 2022’s Bandit, featuring Josh Duhamel, Elisha Cuthbert, and Mel Gibson