Tail Twister is an emotional, thought-provoking film about death and dying that is at the same time, a quirky, often funny celebration of life.  It follows the journey of John Godinet, an irrepressible Pacific Islander living in semi-rural Maryland, and a “posse” of friends who support him in his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

John – a gay man from American Samoa – has become a leader among people who don’t look like him – predominantly white runners’ groups and a conservative, rural Lions Club chapter. He’s a dynamic presence: a veteran of ultra-marathons, a mentor of runners of all ages, and “Tail Twister” – official comedian at the Lions Club. He’s famous for welcoming “virgins” to running events and howling with laughter at his own pranks. It is only later in the film that we come to understand that there’s a fragile core beneath the bluster.

Tail Twister interweaves disparate strands of human love, complicated and imperfect. It depicts John’s ties to his deeply supportive friends and his forty-year, friction-filled relationship with his white husband Peter; and, it explores John’s ties to his Samoan family and culture – a source of deep comfort, but also pain.

TAIL TWISTER is a recipient of Production funding from PIC's Media Fund.