TARNATION

A pioneering, ahead-of-its-time work in the development of the autobiographical documentary, Jonathan Caouette’s cathartic film diary TARNATION swirls together Super 8 and VHS home movies, answering machine messages, family photographs, and other records of a lifetime. TARNATION tells the story of Caouette’s tumultuous childhood, his coming out as gay, and his complex relationship with his schizophrenic mother, a former beauty queen whose life was derailed by the electroshock treatments she received in her youth. Famously made for just $218 and edited using free iMovie software, TARNATION went on to become a critical sensation that redefined the boundaries of personal filmmaking.