“A well-crafted journey into a corner of odd Americana… Bernier clearly ‘gets’ Tashjian’s obsession with the nut as a living entity redolent with humor, texture, variety and even mystery.”
-Robert Koehler, Variety
“An elegy for a lost post-War generation, an essay about societal attitudes towards the aging, and a celebration of individuality and the power of artmaking.”
-Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine
“Bernier’s refreshing documentary reveals the talented, classically trained artist underneath all the nuts… A fun, poignant and heartrending portrait that never condescends.”
-Kim Morgan, LA Weekly
In a Nutshell: A Portrait of Elizabeth Tashjian: chronicles the unique life of Elizabeth Yegsa Tashjian: at birth in 1912, a first generation American of aristocratic Armenian immigrants; at age nine, a concert violinist living on Manhattan’s upper west side; at twenty-one, an award-winning classical painter studying at the National Academy of Design in New York; at age forty-seven, a devoted Christian Science healer; and, at the youthful age of sixty, creator of the one and only Nut Museum. At ninety-two years old, Tashjian found herself immersed in a strange new chapter of her prolific life. After a series of tragic events surrounding her health and finances, she was penniless and confined to a nursing home against her will. The contents of the Nut Museum were permanently removed and her beloved home sold to the highest bidder. Declared insane by her state-appointed conservators, Elizabeth Tashjian fought to preserve her identity and regain the life she built. In a Nutshell made its world premiere at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival and went on to win multiple awards, including a Crystal Heart Award at the 2005 Heartland Film Festival, as well as a Gotham Award nomination.
2005
Don Bernier
Don Bernier
Elizabeth Yegsa Tashjian died on Sunday, January 28, 2007 at the Gladeview Health Care Center in Old Saybrook, CT. For those of us who were fortunate enough to know her, even if briefly, our lives are a little brighter....
04 February, 2007
In a Nutshell: A Portrait of Elizabeth Tashjian wins Best Documentary prize at the 2006 Silver Images Film & Video Awards This annual competition, sponsored by Chicago's Terra Nova Films, recognizes media that "present stories about older adults... entertainingly but without condescension."...
14 August, 2006
In a Nutshell: A Portrait of Elizabeth Tashjian had its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival! Here's the Variety review....
01 March, 2005