Tarnation

A raw, extremely personal and sensual display of self-destruction and rebirth, Tarnation announces the arrival of an exceptional new cinematic visionary.

Made for just $218 and edited using the iMovies software, the film interweaves a psychedelic whirlwind of snapshots, Super-U 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 filmmaker'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, Caouette has single-handedly re-defined the possibilities of documentary, and of filmmaking in general.