Experiencing Interruptions?

The Stolen Goodbye

"The decline of brilliance does not include love." This is a documentary short that chronicles the last few months of Stanley Talmud's life. He was a brilliant man who worked for the NSA, as an Engineer, for 40 years. There were very few people that could do his job, and it all required a strong brain and memory. But, shortly after retirement, he showed signs of Dementia. In 2016, Stanley's life changed dramatically after suffering a severe brain trauma from a fall. The only thing he ever wanted was to recover so he could be with his wife, Paula, of 42 years. Almost simultaneously, Paula suffered an infection which landed her in the same hospital as Stanley. It had been a month since they saw each other and even longer since they had touched. The nurses at the hospital brought Stanley to his wife's room in ICU isolation so they could have one last time together. He is a true testament that even though dementia takes your memory, sometimes it doesn't affect love.

  • Allie Raye
    Director
    Circle of Orange, 2015 Spokane Windstorm
  • Allie Raye
    Writer
    Gargeland Chronicles, Circle of Orange, Charity, Purple Rose
  • Allie Raye
    Producer
    Circle of Orange, Charity, 2015 Spokane Windstorm
  • Stanley and Paula Talmud
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 15, 2017
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Oregon Independent Film Festival
    Portland
    United States
    September 24, 2017
    North American Premiere
Director Biography - Allie Raye

I grew up in WV, PA and MD. Lived in Israel, FL and finally landed in Southern California. After working as a filmmaker for 18 years in Los Angeles, CA, I relocated to Spokane, WA. 2 years later, I decided to return to school so that I could add more current and marketable skills to my repertoire. June 2017, I graduated from Spokane Falls Community College with an AA in Digital Media Production. I’ve added photojournalist, editor and videographer to my repertoire.

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Director Statement

I always loved capturing images that told stories without words. It was an odd hobby, as I’ve been a writer since the age of 10 and I’ve never been at a loss for words. The only obstacle I would have from becoming a photojournalist, was I had trouble turning my camera on someone in emotional pain. I felt it was wrong and invasive. I was happy just photographing landscape or animals. Now I know, if I don’t do that, how can I tell those stories with truth?

In 2015, Spokane had the worst windstorm in history and I was only in my 1st documentary class. We had to make a documentary short and I was going to be cute and do it on 70s music. But, when the windstorm hit, I instinctively grabbed my camera, knowing I was way out of my comfort zone, and ventured out to get footage of trees that had fallen on houses and cars, etc. I had no idea how to interview yet, but I found people on the street and talked to them on camera. It was devastating and heartbreaking to hear their stories.

I was introduced to Premiere a month before the storm and it was only to cut a clip or two. Just to preface, I produced and wrote films in LA but I never in a million years wanted to be an editor. It was boring and there was no way I was going to sit for that long just to put one minute of film together. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The moment my instructor put the mouse in my hand to edit the windstorm, I knew I found love. Finally, I could be in control of the way I told stories.

My documentary short film, "The Stolen Goodbye," is about my father and the love of his life of 42 years. He had dementia and suffered a brain injury from a fall, but that wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. For the next 6 months, as I traveled back and forth from WA to MD, until the evening my father died, I had my camera rolling. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my entire life yet editing this film, was the one thing that helped me move through my grief.

I wasn’t sure the direction this would go in and it far surpassed a home video, so I just started editing with no plan. I wanted to create my dad’s permanent footprint in the sand and in a way, he gave me my new future.