If Tears Were Gold Short Film
Our shoot for "If Tears Were Gold" was an astounding success! We're still raising funds for post-production to cover the costs of editing, color grading, recording & mixing the score, and film festival submission fees.
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, we couldn't do this without you!
A Musical Family Drama
"If Tears Were Gold" is an upcoming musical family drama short film based on my experiences caring for my Nana towards the end of her life. She suffered from dementia and sundowners syndrome that caused auditory hallucinations, and she often thought it was my band playing music.
While fiction, "If Tears Were Gold" is largely based on real events. It also features a song of the same name that Nana and I co-wrote together leading up to her 90th birthday. She was so proud of that song! And I'm very proud to pay tribute to her and our musical collaboration with this short film.
- - Adam Sweeney, Writer/Director
SYNOPSIS: A young punk musician returns home to rural Washington State to help care for their aging Nana Sally who is troubled by music no one else can hear. As Sally's dementia deepens, a new song materializes uniting the family with a very unexpected and unlikely collaboration.
12/18/2024
“If Tears Were Gold” is now officially in post-production! Thanks to everyone who donated to our fundraiser, we were able to shoot the film in September. Our incredible cast and crew spent four 12-hour days filming on location at Nana’s old house in Tenino, Washington. Everyone poured so much of their own passion and creativity into telling our story! It has truly surpassed my vision and exceeded all my expectations. I can’t wait for you to see it!
We were fortunate to have access to an ARRI Alexa Mini—a high end Hollywood cinema camera—and we rented Cooke Classic Panchro lenses which are rehoused classic cinema lenses from the 1920s-1960s that give the film a very timeless feel. Some modern films shot on these same lenses include “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Steve Jobs,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “Carol.”
The lighting and cinematography is absolutely beautiful, and the performances from the actors are incredibly nuanced and emotional. It tells our story perfectly. Here are some still frames from the film so you can see for yourself!
Special thanks is due to Northern Visuals, Desert Island Studios and Gearhead Grip & Electric for donating gear to our production. I’d also like to thank The Holler Fund for a music grant that also helped cover some essential costs. Your contributions seriously elevated the quality of what we were able to achieve during our shoot!
We’re still raising funds for post-production to cover costs of color grading, recording and mixing the score, and to cover film festival submission fees. Please visit our GoFundMe page and help us take “If Tears Were Gold” across the finish line! I’d love to have to film ready to submit to festivals this spring!
"Tenino grandma’s co-written country song inspires film"
The Daily Chronicle (Centralia, WA)
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