The $30 million Tribeca Festival premiere

A new documentary titled Death Boom is set to premiere at the Tribeca Festival in New York on June 9, offering a stark and unexpectedly uplifting look at the business of death and the looming crisis facing the funeral industry.

Directed by Jessica Chandler and narrated by filmmaker Eli Roth, the film confronts the demographic reality that millions of Baby Boomers are expected to die in the next 15 years, creating a surge that will overwhelm every part of the death care system.

The trailer reveals a funeral industry unprepared for this wave,with morgues overflowing and families facing staggering costs.

Composting burials and water cremation: a glimmer of hope

Yet the documentary also highlights innovative alternatives like composting burials, water cremation, and home funerals, which remain illegal in many places.

Produced with backing from Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, Death Boom aims to spark urgent conversations about dignity, sustainability, and humanity in end-of-life care.

A broken, billion-dollar industry exposed

The documentary's synopsis paints a grim picture: As morgues overflow and wallets empty, a broken, billion-dollar industry is exposed.

But better options exist.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The trailer moves between funeral homes , alternative burial sites, and the offices of industry reformers, showing workers overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies arriving daily.

Despite its heavy subject matter, Death Boom does not dwell solely on despair .

The trailer also introduces people offering different ways to handle death, including composting burials, which turn bodies into soil, and water cremation, a more eco-friendly alternative to flame cremation.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

These options face legal hurdles in many jurisdictions, a topic the documentary examines closely.

The film comes at a moment when conversations about death, dignity, and cost have never felt more urgent,as the Baby Boomer generation ages and the death care system strains under the pressure.

By pulling back the curtain on what happens to our bodies after death , Death Boom challenges viewers to rethink their assumptions and consider more sustainable, humane practices.