Requiem for My Mother is an award-winning documentary and a compelling musical celebration of life and love, loss and acceptance. The film chronicles the personal journey of prolific Hollywood film score composer Stephen Edwards as he is forced to deal with the sudden loss of his mother, Rosalie Edwards, whose passion for music transformed his life and who was his constant inspiration.

Interview with Director Stephen Edwards

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I wanted to share the story of how I dealt with the loss of my mother

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

An audience member will be moved by the lengths I took to tribute the woman who gave me life and gave me music - and makes me, the audience member, want to do something extraordinary for a person who was so good to me.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

On so many levels - it deals with my loss, how I tried to deal with it - and how I took my talent (composition) and turned it into a vehicle to cathartically deal with the loss of my mom - to give her back the gift of music that she so selflessly gave to me from my very earliest memory.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

In many ways - this project took 10 years to make - it was difficult to find a way to tell the story in a way that made the audience feel they have a “stake” in me getting the piece written, and getting my conductor colleague (Candace Wicke) to pull off an immensely difficult logistical feat of a concert with 170+ singers (including over 50 children) and an orchestra from Prague - and do the ultimate tribute to someone I loved.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Amazing feedback - we’ve only showed the film to 1 audience (Woods Hole Festival last summer) and we won the Audience Award for Best Feature Music Documentary at the festival - we think when audiences get to see this film, they will be moved by the story, the music, and the emotional journey that is inherent in this film.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

The biggest point: that my sadness and grief over the loss of my mother wasn’t my own - I was internalizing it to deal with her death - and using the grief and sadness as fuel to get me through an 11 movement new major choral work- - but as soon as I wrote this composition - I was giving it away to others - a musical “gift” if you will - so they could experience their own set of unique emotions based on what I had written.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Getting the word out - there are close to 50 million people in the US alone that have had some sort of involvement with a chorus (grade school, high school, college, choral societies, Gay Men’s Choruses, festival choruses, etc) - and even if the viewer has never been in a chorus - EVERY viewer had a mother - someone that gave him/her life - and this focuses on how we honor those who came before us and made us who we are today.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

Mostly media, magazines, newspapers, any sort of blog, personal blogs, singing groups, TV shows - we just feel if people know about this - they will appreciate and be moved by the message. (Incidentally, the few times we’ve screened the film - people have asked consistently how they could go about purchasing a copy of the music so they can listen at home….) so music lovers really have gravitated to this project.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

Global - we think the audience is out there - just a matter of finding them through word-of-mouth and people sharing the impact that the story had on them - we think that once someone in just about any country of the world sees this story - and the beauty of its setting in Vatican City - they will be taken by the emotion and powerful impact of this. People who love films want to 1. see another great film and 2. tell a friend!

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

What have I done for my mother?

Would you like to add anything else?

Spread the word - and get choirs and festivals throughout the world to perform this piece live! I also can’t recommend working with Candace Wicke and Continuo Arts Foundation enough! Continuo Arts and Candace were invited to Rome by Musica Sacra Festival - then she invited me! Her organization, which has been around over a decade, is doing great work in music. Also - I’d encourage any choir director or singer reading his to have their choir work with Candace and perform the Requiem!

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I’m a film composer by day - current projects include Cops and Robbers, Dead Trigger, and Stoic, starring Antonio Banderas. Also work often on other films and TV shows. I write music every day.

Interview: March 2017

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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Requiem for My Mother

Requiem for My Mother is an award-winning documentary and a compelling musical celebration of life and love, loss and acceptance. The film chronicles the personal journey of prolific Hollywood film score composer Stephen Edwards as he is forced to deal with the sudden loss of his mother, Rosalie Edwards, whose passion for music transformed his life and who was his constant inspiration.

To deal with his loss, Edwards channels his anger, passion, sadness, and faith into a major new choral work – a “Requiem,” the traditional Catholic mass for the dead. The film follows the thrilling creation of the piece and the massive preparations leading up to its international premiere at a renowned music festival in Rome’s Vatican City. In collaboration with the Continuo Arts Foundation, along their renowned conductor Candace Wicke, the Requiem goes from a son’s personal lament to a soaring 160-voice choral performance with a 50-piece orchestra, staged in one of the most beautiful and sacred places in the world, the Basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome

Length: 57 minutes

Directors: Stephen Edwards, David Haugland

Producer: Julie Hartley, David Haugland, Stephen Edwards

About the writer, director and producer:

Stephen Edwards - is active writing music for film and TV - with hundreds of Hollywood credits under his belt - and “Requiem for My Mother’ is his first directing effort.

David Haugland - has a long track record in documentary films - having been involved in From Mao to Mozart, the Evelyn Hooker Story, and The Life and Times of Harvey Milk

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/requiemformymother/

Other:

requiemformymother.com

http://imdb.com/name/nm0250373/

http://www.continuoarts.com

Key cast:
Stephen Edwards, Rosalie Edwards, Candace Wicke

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): people to watch and appreciate story and share it - people to buy CD and DVD!

Funders: self

Made in association with: self