Lynne Tillman

An experimental German film

Clonetown 1974 to 1979: a terrorist defector named Charon sits on the edge of oblivion and commentates on the imminent putrification of an abducted car dealer.

Agatha is an international lawyer, Jo a filmmaker. The two women are lovers. While Jo is on the road showing her films, Agatha discovers and reads her diaries. Problems ensue as Agatha's transgressions lead to jealousy and a spiraling cycle of sexual obsession.

Vicky, an out-of-work actress, struggling waitress and lesbian has her whole life thrown into turmoil when her father comes from Germany to visit. The main problem is that Vicky has told him she is a successful actress and happily married. She enlists the help of a gay friend to play her husband. Using a large range of characters—gay, lesbian, straight, transsexuals—the film creates a funny and touching view of family dynamics and sexuality.

A séance is performed by three cloned versions of the filmmaker in order to make a connection to another plane.  The rules of the séance, written in 1920 by parapsychologist Hereward Carrington, are invoked on camera by novelist Lynne Tillman.  According the text, roses which are seen as lights by spirits on the other plane, are placed on the séance table as a beacon. The spiritual dimension of the séance is captured with black and white video cameras dating back to the early 1970's that create visually stunning artifacts of light trails, black halos, and scan lines that swirl endlessly into the unknown.

Bette Gordon describes her first feature film as “a narrative derived from film’s own material and my concern for exploring issues of representation and identification in cinema."

Stylized, black and white biography of Frances Farmer by author Lynne Tillman and Sheila McLauglin.

Stylized, black and white biography of Frances Farmer by author Lynne Tillman and Sheila McLauglin.

Stylized, black and white biography of Frances Farmer by author Lynne Tillman and Sheila McLauglin.