“Bizarre! Insane! Macabre! [A] delight to trash lovers everywhere” – Derek Winnert

A trash cinema spectacle combining the queer-underground ethos of Kenneth Anger and Andy Warhol with a carnival freak show, Mondo Trasho is where it all began for the Pope of Trash. A delirious collage of surreal sketches, outrageous characters, and gleeful provocation, John Waters’ debut feature is raw, cheap, and defiantly unpolished. Made on a budget of a couple thousand dollars and scored to a nonstop array of early rock ‘n’ roll, Mondo Trasho stars Waters’ Dreamland Players, including Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, and the immortal Divine in a make-it-up-as-it-goes-along plot involving moonings, a hit and run, a hippie foot fetishist, a deranged insane asylum, the Virgin Mary, and chicken foot surgery. Never released on DVD or Blu-ray due to music licensing issues, Mondo Trasho is a rare opportunity to see Waters’ mad genius take shape. As the film’s original poster announced, “At last… a gutter film.”

But be warned! This movie is not for everyone. Like other early Waters films, it contains violence toward chickens and other nasty content.

This screening is totally free. No ticket is required; seating is first come, first served.

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.