Grief -- Fiction

Overview "A Starving Fire tells the story of a young man plagued by death, guilt, and regret, all while he tries to navigate this new world of ever-changing relationships after a terrible house fire claimed the lives of his father and little brother. This excerpt features the first part of his story, when he is still in his early twenties and struggling to move forward. Influenced by contemporary romance novels, Jaxson’s story navigates love in its many forms, including love for family, friends,...

Overview "This project seeks to explore the multivalent nature of experience and memory, following a young woman (Elizabeth) home after the death of her strange and distant friend (Ursa). Through a tangled web of lived and learned experience, flash-backs, dreamscapes, and mis- remembrances, Elizabeth must seek out the gods responsible for the gradual disintegration of her family and friendships, and reassign order to the place and meaning of her childhood––trying not to lose who she believes herself...

Overview "Before I Go' is an experimental short film about a granddaughter's love letter to her recently passed grandmother. Shot in 16mm film, as well as 35mm photography, the film blurs the lines between past, present, life and death. Both Ektachrome and Negative 50D footage were used to delineate jumps in timeline and shifts in mood and tone. The film is inspired by the works of Isabel Allende and the magical realism genre. It questions the idea of physically being, and then being no more, and how...

Overview "CRUELTIES OF OMISSION is my attempt to grapple with questions of grief and time. In these five sometimes-speculative stories, characters inflict, wrestle with, and are products of pain. Adult siblings bring to life a simulacrum of their recently deceased father. A new technology offers fast, easy means to settle up with regret. A mother struggles to comprehend why her long-absent son won't come home to her. They're lost, they've lost, they're losing, they're losers—pushing back against a...

Overview "The characters in this collection are preoccupied with loss. Some are led by their attempts to avoid it and some are trying to pick up the pieces after it. A widow tries to make ends meet by entering her daughter into a talent contest. A man goes to extreme lengths to keep his girlfriend happy. A washed-up celebrity tries to recapture his former glory. All are locked in a fight with the fact that everything is temporary. A secondary focus for these stories is the tension between the...

Overview "HERE BE MONSTERS is a story about loss, both personal and collective. It asks what must be done to maintain hope in the face of immeasurable grief, exploring such themes as family trauma, class inequality, and the material repercussions of a warming planet that's been ignored for too long. But at its core, this is a novel about two people on a quest for answers—to their pain, their futures, and the mysteries of the world around them—that forces them to confront what they mean to each...

Overview "LET'S GO KILL YOUR FATHER is a dark comedy and drama centered around a mother-daughter road trip that explores the complicated gravity of grief and guilt. Sprinkled with comedic levity, the film's emotional arc is tethered between the creation of one life and the ending of another. A young Cuban woman completing in vitro fertilization is suddenly jolted into a mission of the opposite nature when her estranged, sickly father asks her to travel from Miami to Portland to euthanize him. She...

Overview "My Share of the Body is a collection of short stories that revolve around grieving, ownership, and queerness. Each story confronts the process of grieving from an angle unique to character and circumstance, often positing loss as a yearning for the body of another. The collection attempts not to make sense of grief, but rather to explore the experience both in the immediate wake and beyond. As a whole, these stories question time, how time changes as we move through loss, and, still, how...

Overview "In this thesis, the intricate tapestry of familial relationships and the pervasive presence of grief are interwoven with threads of humor and adventure. The Spencer family, shattered by the recent loss of their father, embarks on a transformative journey to South Africa, seeking solace and unity as a family. Amidst the breathtaking landscapes, the family endeavors to forge new bonds, allowing grief to be a catalyst for growth. As they grapple with the complexities of loss, life in Africa...

Overview "The night of her father’s funeral, Josie Parker finds her father's old journal, gets drunk on the floor of what used to be his painting studio, and books a trip to France. On her first night, she meets the British expat who’s as gorgeous as he is mysterious. After thinking he gave her a disconnected number, they meet by chance in a café and begin their doomed flirtation. Josie climbs up to the monastery in the mountains and tries to call her mom, only to end up experiencing her first real...

Overview "The Home Front is an emotionally thought-provoking 25-minute short film that delves into the intricacies of small-town life and the hidden darkness that lies beneath its picturesque facade. Journalist Natalie Cruz is summoned back to her quaint New England hometown, tasked with unraveling the enigmatic layers of a serene lakeside community, Natalie must navigate the complexities of trust and betrayal as she seeks to unearth long-buried secrets. The film explores themes of grief, resilience,...

Overview "After 10 years, since the death of his mother, Jason is getting ready to be married and sends an invite his father, Richard. Receiving no response to his invitation, Jason comes home to get an answer in person. In the midst of seeking a response Jason also confronts his own true feelings and finally speaks them aloud. He discovers that his feelings are not the only at play but also those of his father and sister, Rachael, who also lost something the day his mother died. When an invitation...

Overview

"Cheng returns to Guangzhou after his maternal grandfather's death during his final summer break in the US. Jetlag, the loss of his grandfather and moving to a new place keeps him between the past and present reality. He gradually learns how the death affects everyone in his family. In the process he gets to know them as individuals rather than simply as different roles in the family." -- Abstract

Overview

"Visiting is a short narrative about the relationships between different generations of a Chinese immigrant family at a time of loss. A grandson needs to go back to his family to be with his sick grandfather for his last hours. At the same time his girlfriend is pregnant yet he is not ready to be a father." -- Abstract

Overview

"Winter's Passing is a coming-of-age narrative short film. Due to his mother's untimely death and his father's remarriage, an 8-year-old boy has to live with his grandfather who runs a small urn shop. While reluctantly staying at the shop and trying to return to his father, he meets a woman who wants to buy two identical urns. Through their secret deal, the boy gradually learns the meanings of loss and grief." -- Abstract