Escape From Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith(2017)

Escape From Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith is an essay film that explores the experimental work of queer New York underground legend Jack Smith through 21 thematic chapters. Rather than a conventional biography, Jerry Tartaglia—longtime archivist of Smith's film estate—constructs an analytical meditation on the artist's distinctive aesthetic vision and creative philosophy. The film prioritizes Smith's artistic output over biographical detail, offering viewers an unmediated encounter with his singular sensibility. Tartaglia's approach functions as an invitation into Smith's imagined world, examining the formal and conceptual innovations that defined his provocative performance and filmmaking practice. This is essential viewing for those interested in avant-garde cinema, queer experimental art, and the underground film movements that shaped postwar American culture.