Vic Chesnutt

Karl Childers, a mentally disabled man, has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, he is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.

On November 27, 1987 the Cowboy Junkies set up a single microphone inside The Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Ontario and in one day recorded what would become The Trinity Session, a landmark album of originals and covers grounded in traditional country, blues, and folk, with a clear nod to The Velvet Underground. The album would go on to sell millions of copies worldwide and establish the Cowboy Junkies as one of the most influential bands of the alternative era. Now, 20 years later, the Cowboy Junkies have returned to The Church of the Holy Trinity to celebrate their most famous work with the help of special guests Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant, Vic Chesnutt, and Jeff Bird.

A portrait of Athens, Georgia singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt.

Vic Chesnutt performed one of his last shows Nov. 21, 2009 in a house in Canada. "Vic Chesnutt - IT IS WHAT IT IS" is the document of that special evening.

This surreal art-movie/live-performance hybrid is comprised of New York filmmaker Jem Cohen's original 16mm and DV movie footage combined with concert clips of Vic Chesnutt and members of Silver Mt. Zion, among others.