AMERICAN CARNAGE
Jed owes money to a maniac disguised as Donald Trump. But Jed is officially dead. The Statue of Liberty witnesses the whole thing. It's pretty weird.
> Filmed guerrilla-style in Shreveport Louisiana during an actual Mardi Gras parade, American Carnage is a surreal rampaging miniature chase movie. The gurning face of Donald Trump is ever-present and this is the dark and nagging question at the heart of the film: what the fuck have we got ourselves into?
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Tamzin MerchantDirectorAmerican Virgin, American Pride, Juliet Remembered
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Tamzin MerchantWriterAmerican Virgin, American Pride, Juliet Remembered
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Cam OwenProducerAmerican Virgin, American Pride
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Tamzin MerchantProducerAmerican Virgin, American Pride, Juliet Remembered
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Garrett KruithofProducerShakespeare on the Range, Devil's Acid, Scrape
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Daniel SalazarKey CastShakespeare on the Range
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Joe OchterbeckKey CastAmerican Virgin, Vengeance: A Love Story
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Garrett KruithofKey CastTrue Detective (S1), Magic City, Free State of Jones
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Tamzin MerchantKey CastThe Tudors, Salem, Supergirl
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Cam OwenKey CastAmerican Virgin, American Pride, Beaumont
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Chase
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Runtime:12 minutes
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Completion Date:September 6, 2017
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Production Budget:7,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Louisiana Prize FestShreveport
United States
October 5, 2017
World Premiere
Tamzin is an actor, writer and director from England. She began directing short films in 2015 while working as an actor on location in Shreveport, Louisiana. She directs her own scripts and loves working with new actors, continually learning new things about acting as she explores directing.
Tamzin's previous three short films have played at film festivals Internationally and won several awards. Most notably Oxford International Film Festival (2017) Best Screenplay for JULIET REMEMBERED, BIFF London (2017) Best Short Film for JULIET REMEMBERED, Louisiana Film Prize (2015) Jury Award for AMERICAN VIRGIN.
AMERICAN CARNAGE was written in 3 days and filmed within a month of writing. It was written 10 days into the Trump presidency. At the time, the actions of the new president were bewildering and infuriating in equal measure so this film came out of the need to express our collective outrage and astonishment at this absolute buffoon becoming the leader of the free world. We wanted to make him clown-like but sinister. The mask never comes off.
Because to our minds there is something surreal and ridiculous about Donald Trump being the President, the film is intentionally somewhat surreal and ridiculous. Set in small-town America there's that feeling of Waiting For Godot, an odd disconnected passivity and acceptance of the off-kilter things.
I decided to play the role of the stripper in this film. Directing myself was a new step, as was stripping... At this time, when there are so many conversations about female exploitation vs. empowerment both in front of and behind the camera, perhaps a female director/writer/actor performing as a stripper in her own film is the perfect storm of controversy. It's something I'm happy to come and talk about if you show my film at your festival...