Festivals - Fantasia 2020 : Tiny Tim – King for a day , World Premiere

By Mulder, 15 august 2020

“I have got to know a person, so extraordinary,that it’s hard to imagine.” - Johan Von Sydow

This, however, is not a typical story of fame won and lost, because Tiny Tim was by no means a typical talent, 100% genuine and 100% original. Tiny Tim may only have been King for a day, but for that day he reigned like no other. The definitive documentary on Tiny Tim has been a long time coming, and Johan von Sydow's Tiny Tim – King for a day is just that, a lovingly respectful but also frankly honest tale of an artist who could also be his own worst enemy. Von Sydow was able to access Tim's diaries to tell much of the story from Tim’s mindset, and with none other than “Weird Al” Yankovic performing Tim's inner voice with surprising and genuinely dramatic results. Interviews with many of Tim's friends, ex-wives and such contemporaries as Wavy Gravy, Tommy James, and the late Jonas Mekas and D.A. Pennabaker, all of whom saw him for the artist he was, shows the filmmakers not out to merely tell a story of fame won and lost, but of a one-of-a-kind artist that we may never see the likes of again. Like its subject, King for a day is a singular documentary on outsider art, 20th-century fame, and being true to your heart, and like its subject, it's unlike anything else out there

Synopsis :
Tiny Tim could have only found himself accepted by the general public in the era of peace and love. Starting in the late ’60s, Tiny Tim, a shy little boy from NYC born Herbert Khaury, who only sought love and acceptance, became world famous for both his Vaudeville-era inspired music and his unique personality. Hit records and legendary TV appearances made him a household name, but as the ’60s turned to the ’70s, Tiny Tim's fame, like many other performers of era, waned, and he would soon go from superstar to has-been. To a fragile soul like Tiny Tim, this would bring back years of rejection and break his heart.

King for a Day (Sweden)
Directed by Johan Von Sydow
Produced by David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski, Justin Martell
Written by Martin Daniel, Johan Von Sydow
Starring Tiny Tim, D.A. Pennebaker, Wavy Gravy, Jonas Mekas, Tommy James, Weird Al Yankovic
Music by Gustav Wall
Cinematography: Damir Kudin, Lars Erlend Tubaas Øymo
Edited by Stefan Sundlöf
Running time : 75mns

(Source : Fantasia 2020 official website)