Focus on AFI Conservatory - MORS DAG
A woman's painful history of miscarriage returns in waves as her teenage daughter's menstruation starts. The constant reminder of what was lost and the obscuring of what she has combines as mother and daughter reconnect.
Interview with Writer/Director Jeanine B. Frost
Watch Mors Dag on AFI Conservatory Films
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
The same year I decided to apply to AFI I miscarried the little star who'd have become my second child. My husband and I went back and forth, do we try again? - do we wait? - but I decided that filmmaking was gonna be second child. It would take more than the time and effort that caretaking for a second child would have required. I struggled with the choice through my years at AFI and so when it came time to figure out what I wanted to focus on for my thesis, I decided to addressed the subject. We had planted a peach tree in our yard to commemorate the loss and give space for that energy to continue growing and that's where I started with MORS DAG (Mother's Day).
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It is a view into a mother daughter dynamic rarely addressed. Culturally it's inappropriate to have disconnected mothers. We are conditioned to be attentive and all giving - self less. And in turn vilified when struggling. I wanted the audience to find empathy and understanding for an unlikable mother and explore how our past reverberates through our presence. It's so easy to just stay there, hidden and shielded, but in the end feeling connected and held in whatever we are experiencing speaks to most people's need.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Over time it's become clear to me that my work always tends to focus on the repercussions of trauma. Trauma is a part of growing up, a natural part of life. To be expected and embraced - it's what forms us along with all the other experiences we have through life. Trauma is experienced by all on smaller and larger scales and we internalize and recognize their effects in vastly different ways. This fascinates me. I have had my share of trauma through my teenage years and my 20's, so it's both a personal and universal experience that drove me to focus on how a mother would internalize the shame of not being able to reproduce and in turn how it effects the relationship with her adopted daughter on the day the mother discover her daughters period and consequently her ability to procreate.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Everything changes and evolves all the time. That's the beauty of filmmaking. Staying flexible and present is the number one rule! A few examples of how it grew and changed over time. On a script level it was bigger in scope when I first started writing. More characters. More locations - but due to budget constraints and encouragement from producers to use mainly one location, it was simplified. We had all but secured a location with an orange grove, which had great significance for the story, but lost it a few weeks before production and we had to plant just a few orange trees instead which significantly altered the effect of this powerful image reflecting the main characters past. This was a heartbreaking for me but there was no wriggle room with the schedule and I'm sure you can imagine finding an affordable mid century modern house with an orange grove in LA is not an easy task. Even more was cut out in the editing room. Some scenes didn't flow like we had imagined and we cut some pieces out that just seemed too heavy handed in the larger story arc.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Audiences have expressed that it's a beautiful and impactful story, a new and unique view. Generally people want more than they are given, I think mainly because the mother character is rather unlikable to audiences and they want more time to feel empathy for her.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has made me feel like I can be bolder and trust some of my more expressive and outrageous impulses in my writing. Not to shy away from shocking. That's what makes film memorable. All the different voices we were asked to listen to when creating in a school setting, pulled me and some of my collaborators away from actions that spoke to a deeper and more complex character than we ultimately saw on the screen.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would like my film to be seen by a broader audience to start a conversation addressing miscarriage as a natural part of conception and the psychological effects our culturally reinforced judgement has on the individual experiencing the event and repercussions. I would love to screen at more festivals and partner with a distributor with a focus on mental health and female issues (reproductive health).
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Getting some more PR could definitely help spread the film's message, so I would love to talk to journalists interested in the film and the subject. Festival Directors for more exposure on the circuit and distributors to broaden the scope even further.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like the film to help normalize the conversation around miscarriage and the psychological effects of the trauma associated with the experience. With 20 percent of pregnancies likely to end in miscarriage it's a common thing to go through and I encourage more public conversation to help the women feels less of a woman and alienated from their surrounding and community as a result.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do you know anyone who has had a miscarriage?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I (Jeanine Frost) have a first draft of a Danish/American feature drama ready for further development and currently pitching it to Danish Producers. Also in development on a Fictional TV-series about climate change and an American feature drama about the balancing of female desire.
Interview: August 2021
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. 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
MORS DAG
Length:
13:23
Writer/Director
JEANINE B. FROST is a Vermont based filmmaker originally from Denmark. She explores deeply personal and psychological portraits in her films, rooting the experience in the stark, honest simplicity of Nordic Storytelling. A 2019 American Film Institute Directing Fellow, mother and lover of black licorice.
Producer
Originally from Moscow, ELENA AKSENOVA is a Los Angeles based producer and production manager. She is a graduate of UCLA's Producers Program. Elena has produced over a dozen short films that have been selected in 100+ festivals and have won 21 awards worldwide. She is a recipient of the Movie Magic Entertainment Partners Producer Award for Outstanding Achievement.
GEENAH KRISHT is a producer and writer from Little Rock, Arkansas. For the last four years, she has freelanced in commercial, television, music video, short, and feature film production. Before that, she was an in-house producer for Dallas-based indie film company Dreamfly Productions. In 2017, Geenah was a producer on feature film 1985. Geenah has produced for clients such as Amazon, Uber, Paramount, NYDJ, Estrella Jalisco, ACLU, among others. Geenah is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with degrees in journalism and film and media arts.
Key cast:
Mette Lisby (Ellen), Cece Abbey (Lilly)
Looking for:
distributors, film festival directors, journalists, buyers
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/morsdagfilm
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/morsdagfilm/
Hashtags used:
#miscarriage #motherdaughterstory #adoption #stillbirth #afi #studentfilm
More info:
Made in association with:
AFI Conservatory
Where can I watch it?
Middlebury New Filmmakers/ Middlebury, Vermont - August 28. 2021 at 9am (Aug 25-29)