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Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi likes to turn the camera on himself, documenting his personal foibles in such independent films as I DON'T HATE LAS VEGAS ANYMORE and IN THE BATHTUB OF THE WORLD, blending fiction with nonfiction to create highly individualized works that feature his own rather unique sense of humor and frustration. (In addition to starring in his own movies, Zahedi has also appeared in such films as Richard Linklater's WAKING LIFE and Alexander Payne's CITIZEN RUTH.) More than 10 years in the making, I AM A SEX ADDICT is his most accomplished film, a self-described "autobiographical hybridization" about his own battle with sexual addiction. A hit at the Tribeca and Rotterdam Film Festivals, I AM A SEX ADDICT begins with Caveh, playing a man named Caveh, preparing to get married for the third time. His previous relationships failed primarily because of his obsession with sex--especially with prostitutes--and his deep-seated need to share every little detail of his exploits with his girlfriends and wives, knowing that it could destroy what they have together. Zahedi recreates his past abuses, walking down a Paris street trying to find just the right hooker. However, he couldn't raise enough money to film the scene in France, so he shoots it in San Francisco, facing the camera and asking the audience, in a very humorous way, to pretend he's overseas. In his tales of woe--featuring Rebecca Lord as Caroline, Emily Morse as Christa, and Amanda Henderson as Devin--he occasionally mixes in home-movie footage of the actual women in his life, walking the fine line between truth and fiction, between documentary and drama. I AM A SEX ADDICT is a very funny, insightful film, though it does show some graphic sex scenes. Influenced by such independent auteurs as John Cassavetes, Lars von Trier, Mike Leigh, and Jean-Luc Godard, Zahedi is not afraid to look into the mirror and bare his soul in this highly entertaining work, which also includes the excellent music of Jonathan Richman.
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