Made for just $218 and edited using the iMovies software, the film interweaves a pshchedelic whirlwind of snapshots, Super-8 home movies, answering machine messages, video diaries, snippets of 80's pop culture and dramatic re-enactments to create an epic portrait of director Jonathan Caouette's American Family. It is also a personal love letter to the filmaker''''s mother Renee, who spent much of her youth undergoing electro-shock therapy.


Produced by Gus Van Sant (Elephant) and John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and The Angry Inch), Tarnation has enraptured audiences worldwide with its visual audacity and undiluted emotion. Though reminiscent of the work of David Lynch and avant-garde artists such as Stan Brakhage, Caoueete has single-handedly re-defined the possiblities of documentary, and of filmaking in general.

Special Features


Commentary by Jonathan Caouette

Booklet containing an interview with Jonathan Caouette

'Life In Reflection' by Owen Pritchard-Smith, winner of the 'Make Your Own Short Film' competition

Trailers