Cul-de-Sac: A Suburban War Story

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The first documentary by director Garrett Scott who went on to make the Iraq war masterpiece OCCUPATION: DREAMLAND with Ian Olds. CUL DE SAC tells the story of Shawn Nelson, a crystal meth addict who stole a tank from a San Diego military base and wreaked havoc in the suburbs. Scott takes the police helicopter footage of the event to tell a surreal story of the US military industrial complex and the rise and fall of suburbia.

“Brilliant… Each time Cul De Sac revisits Nelson’s low-speed tank chase, he seems less like a standard-issue nut-job loner and more like a military/industrial Frankenstein’s monster, haunted by (and hunted for) other people’s sins.” – New York Press

The film won acclaim when it played at the Toronto International Film Festival and NY Underground Film Festival. Filmmaker Magazine named Scott one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2002. It was a great loss when he died of a heart attack in March 2006, at age 37, two days before he and Olds were awarded the Independent Spirit Award. He was a beloved member of the New York documentary community and a regular attendee at Stranger Than Fiction.

• Country United States
• Language English
• Rating NR
• Year 2002
• Running Time 55 minutes
• Director Garrett Scott

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.