Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of America’s schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art that’s both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, they’re virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. They’ve created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of America’s morbidly obese consumer culture.

posters by Keith Herzik | TANXXX | Guy Burwell

Eileen Yaghoobian – Producer/Director/Cinematographer/Editor

Iranian-born, Canadian filmmaker Eileen Yaghoobian has spent the past three years filming her first, full-length documentary film. Died Young, Stayed Pretty is the pinnacle of her 10-year career in film. After completing her formal training in film, 3D animation, theatre and photography, Yaghoobian worked in various roles as a director, production designer and set decorator on numerous independent productions in New York City, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. She has also worked in the television industry as a graphic designer on the series The Collector. Yaghoobian's short films and videos have been screened nationally and internationally in such film festivals as the Phoenix Film Festival, Film Festivals in Toronto and NYC and traveled in exhibitions in Europe. Her work is in the permanent collections at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France; Art Bank, Canada Council for the Arts, Ottawa. She recently directed Tennessee Williams' play The Night of the Iguana in Boston.

Currently, Yaghoobian has been invited to participate in The Lincoln Center Director's Lab 2008. She is also developing a feature narrative for her next film.

Mark Greenberg – Music Composer

Mark Greenberg was a member of the band the Coctails (Hi-Ball/Carrot Top) in the early 90's and currently plays and records with Archer Prewitt (Thrill Jockey), and Eleventh Dream Day (Thrill Jockey) and Chestnut Station (Drag City). In addition to touring and recording bands in his home studio, Mark also makes music for use in video games, TV, the Internet, and films with his companies Mayfair Recordings and the Mayfair Workshop. He lives in Chicago with his wife Ann-Marie and their three beautiful children.

Pete Dionne – Visual Effects

Pete Dionne has spent the last seven years in the film industry as a VFX artist at Tehnicolor in Vancouver. A few of his highlights have been Slither, The Butterfly Effect, and It's All Gone Pete Tong. He has also worked on a number of independent music videos, including Black Rice's Into The Night and Sam Roberts' Hard Road.