Fridae

Part of
Home Movies
Fri, 22 Jul – Fri, 9 Sep | 7:30pm | MIG, SAM at 8Q
Singapore Art Museum




FRI, 12 AUG 2011, 7:30PM

TARNATION
dir. Jonathan Caouette, 2003, United States of America, 88 mins

Film Rating: M18
Consumer advice: Mature Content

Created by Caouette from over 20 years and hundreds of hours' worth of Super-8 and VHS home movies, found footage, photographs, and audio recordings, this film tells the story of his life, transition into young adulthood, and his relationship with his mother Renee. This film delves into what it means to grow up queer with a schizophrenic mother.

Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette) trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLDQL23nutw



More:

Wikipedia on Tarnation

Tarnation is an autobiographical documentary focusing on Caouette's early life and adulthood, as well as his mother, Renee LeBlanc, who was treated with electroshock in her youth. She did not need this electroshock therapy, which resulted in lifelong insanity. With an absent father and a mother who struggled with mental illness, Caouette eventually settled in the Houston area with his grandparents, Adolph and Rosemary Davis, who despite personality quirks provided a supportive family for him. The film explores Caouette's life as he negotiates his complicated relationship with his mother as her child, friend and ultimately, parental figure while developing his creativity as an actor, writer and director.

Caouette came out as gay at a young age and moved to New York City at age 25, eventually finding a boyfriend named David Sanin Paz. They both live in New York City today. As documented in the film, his mother has lived with them at times and they've formed an unusual family. A scene early in the movie has an approximately 11-year-old Caouette improvising a monologue as a woman in an abusive relationship.

In the making since the director was 11 years old, Tarnation was created by Caouette from over 20 years and hundreds of hours' worth of Super-8 and VHS home movies, video diaries and short films, as well as photographs and audio recordings. Part documentary, part home movie and part narrative fiction on acid, this film tells the story of Caouette's life and transition into young adulthood while exploring his relationship with his mother Renee.Caouette portrays his complicated family legacy of abandonment and abuse, and juxtaposes it with his personal history of experimentation and escapism. This film is his story of what it means to grow up queer with a schizophrenic mother.

Made using home computer editing software, Tarnation was initially made on a budget of USD$218.32. Executive produced by Gus Van Sant and John Cameron Mitchell, the film went on to screen at Sundance and the Cannes Film Festival, and has won awards including The National Society of Film Critics (Best Documentary), the Independent Spirit, the Gotham Awards and awards at the Los Angeles and the London International Film Festivals.

Director: Jonathan Caouette
Screenplay: Jonathan Caouette
Cast: Jonathan Caouette
Running time: 88 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

Director's Biography
Jonathan Caouette is a filmmaker, writer and actor. His films include the autobiographical and multiple award-winning film Tarnation (2003), as well as All Tomorrow's Parties (2009), a film about the eponymous long-running underground music festival. He also directed the short film All Flowers in Time (2010), starring Chloë Sevigny. His most recent feature, Walk Away Renée (2011), premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was selected for the Critic's Week section. This film is a return to autobiography and depicts his efforts to place his ill mother under state care. Caouette was also an actor in Fat Girls (2006) and Portland (2008) and has toured with the European company of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the New York 30th anniversary of Hair. His first film Tarnation has won multiple awards internationally.

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screened with:
MOTHER
dir. Royston Tan, 2002, Singapore, 6 mins

After ten years, a son returns home to reconcile his relationship with his mother. Using Super-8 found footage, this film explores the love/hate relationship between mother and son with an ironic mix of nostalgic sentimentality and contempt.

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HOME MOVIES
Fri, 22 Jul – Fri, 9 Sep | 7:30pm | Moving Image Gallery | SAM at 8Q, Level 2

In conjunction with Video: an Art, a History 1965-2010: A Selection from the Centre Pompidou and Singapore Art Museum Collections, SAM presents a special series of eleven films notable for their unique takes on the themes of home movies, amateur film, and found footage. These marginal genres serve as an important parallel story to the history of video art and independent film.

$10 for each film screening day. $5 concessions for students with valid ID, senior citizens and full-time NS men. Limited seating. Tickets can be purchased at SAM at 8Q and SISTIC from 1 July onwards (TBC). Please call 6332 3200 ahead of time for ticket availability.

Visit www.singaporeartmuseum.sg for full listings, synopses and ratings.