IM AN ELECTRIC LAMPSHADE

I'm an Electric Lampshade

Directed by John Clayton Doyle
Mexico, Philippines, U.S | 2021 | Documentary
96 minutes | English

An offbeat, heartwarming portrait of the world’s least likely rock star, this documentary-narrative hybrid tells the story of Doug McCorkle, a buttoned-up, mild-mannered corporate accountant. Although starting in a traditional documentary mode, the film begins moving into fictional territory at Doug’s retirement, when he bridges his two worlds of humdrum accounting and performative bliss. After he “premieres” his first music video, a man whispers into Doug’s ear about a special place to train for his dream, and the film leaves reality altogether, sending viewers on a surrealist journey with only the loosest plotline and heavy doses of choreography and visual expressionism. Soon Doug is knocking on the door of a dreamlike studio filled with drag queens training for the spotlight, becoming one with his newly adopted family, and eventually taking a small wafer that catapults him into a performative dreamscape. Like Sean Baker’s “Tangerine,” “I’m an Electric Lampshade’s” cast is a collection of real people portraying versions of themselves, bringing an authenticity to the film that would be impossible to fake. The result is a mind-bending musical odyssey in the tradition of “Stop Making Sense” and “Searching for Sugar Man.”

Shown with
Gangnam Beauty

Gangnam Beauty

Directed by
Yan Tomaszewski
France
South Korea
U.K.
2020
23 minutes
English & Korean
Oli London, a thirtysomething Englishman fascinated by South Korea and especially K-pop star Jimin, has spent a fortune on plastic surgery to look like the musician. (Short will only play with in-person screening of "I'm an Electric Lampshade.")