Divine Trash

Directed by Steve Yeager

Steve Yeager's documentary Divine Trash won the Sundance Film Festival's Filmmakers Trophy for best documentary (beating out such bores as Ken Burns and Barbara Kopple). In typical fashion, John was quoted as saying to Mr. Yeager, "you should hope I die, and then you'd have a very popular film."

It contains biographical footage of John as a kid, interviews with him, his mother, original Dreamland castmembers like Divine, Mink, Mary, David and Edith, filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, The Kuchar Brothers and HG Lewis. Last - and definitely least - Mary Avara, once head of the Maryland Censor Board rants and raves about how disgusted she was with Waters work.

Intended for Maryland Public Television when originally shot, it also follows the cast and crew of Pink Flamingos at work around town and in the woods. Contemporary interviews reflecting on the process of working with John on this landmark underground movie are another reason this is a must-see for Dreamland Fans.

There is also a sequel that takes off where Divine Trash left off - post Pink Flamingos - called In Bad Taste. Only shown on Independent Film Channel and Bravo. Check your listings for rebroadcasts!

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1998, color and black and white, film and video, 105 minutes