The Beaver Trilogy

March 25 · Regal Riviera · 10:30 A.M.

Trent Harris, 1979/1981/1985/2001, 85 minutes

“A rivetingly strange, multi­layer­ed inquiry into ce­leb­ri­ty, ob­ses­sion, and serendipity.” — A.O. Scott, New York Times

“Of all the films that have ever been or will be, nothing compares to Beaver Trilogy.” — Sundance Film Festival

“[H]olds a place as one of the oddest footnotes in American cinema.” — Variety

Produced in three segments over a span of seven years, Trent Harris’s The Beaver Trilogy tells the story of an Olivia Newton-John impersonator in a small Utah town. It’s a remarkable film — funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately inspiring. Trust us, you’ve never seen anything like it.

A chance encounter with a young man led Trent Harris on a life-changing cinematic journey that spanned twelve years. The year is 1979. While testing a new video camera in the parking lot of the TV station where he worked, “Groovin’ Gary” volunteers to offer some celebrity impressions, then shows off his uniquely detailed car. Later, Gary invites Trent to document his cross-dressing performance of Olivia Newton-John in a talent show.

Two years later, after sitting on the original footage, Trent Harris restages the events in fictionalized form. And he does so with a then-unknown young actor named Sean Penn. Still feeling unsatisfied with the results, Harris further expanded and fictionalized the story in 1985, this time employing a young actor named Crispin Glover.

Finally, in 2001, Harris edited the three films together to create The Beaver Trilogy. Did we say you’ve never seen anything like it?

A singular film about one filmmaker’s obsessive desire to get a story right, and about the ways film can be used as a tool to exploit or empower outsiders, The Beaver Trilogy is a neglected masterpiece. Not to be missed.

Trent Harris is a filmmaker, visual artist, and author who has worked in Utah for over thirty years. His other films include the underground hits Rubin and Ed (with Crispin Glover), Plan 10 From Other Space, and Luna Mesa. The Beaver Trilogy Part IV documentary about Harris and his journey in making The Beaver Trilogy was released in 2015.

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