Synopsis

Anthropologist James Krippendorf returns from New Guinea without the lost tribe his university funded him to find. Facing scrutiny over the missing money, he invents the Shelmikedmu and presents his children as its members in a fake documentary. As his deception attracts academic and media attention, Krippendorf must keep the increasingly elaborate hoax alive while trying to hold his family together.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Frank Parkin's 1985 novel of the same name.

• The fictional tribe's name, Shelmikedmu, combines the names of Krippendorf's three children: Shelly, Mickey, and Edmund.

• Several of the fake anthropological artifacts are deliberately improvised household objects. One supposed sexual artifact is actually a toy space shuttle that has been left in an oven.

• The fabricated documentary footage uses the children in homemade tribal costumes and combines their backyard performances with footage from Krippendorf's genuine New Guinea expedition.

• Released by Touchstone Pictures on February 27, 1998, the 94-minute film earned approximately $7.6 million in domestic theaters.

• Reviews frequently criticized the film's use of racial stereotypes and its treatment of Indigenous cultures, an aspect that has strongly shaped discussion of its legacy.