Dying For A Living

A sensitive, contrasting portrait of Shaun Morris, a 57 year old extroverted undertaker living hand-to-mouth in Southampton. Surviving on a zero hours contract, the opportunity of a permanent job appears which could change his life dramatically.

This story is a sensitive, touching portrait about Shaun, a self-deprecating, witty undertaker who is struggling to earn enough money for basic human needs, rent, food and clothes, but who attains self-fulfillment via his noble profession of undertaking. As we follow him on his pursuit of a full-time contract with his firm, we listen to Shaun's reflections on his life and the choices he has made. The two accomplishments he is most proud of is doing his job well and producing a well rounded 21 year old daughter. Through his story we understand our innate survival methods, our need for acceptance and validation from others and that maybe talking about our own death isn't so bad after all.

  • adriana falcinelli
    Director
  • adriana falcinelli
    Writer
  • adriana falcinelli
    Producer
  • Shaun Morris
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 4, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    100 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • UK Monthly Film Festival
    Norwich
    United Kingdom
    Winner of Best Student Film UK Monthly Film Fest March/April 2017
  • Chicago Independent Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    June 30, 2018
    Winner Best Documentary
  • Social World Film Festival
    Sorrento
    Italy
    September 10, 2017
    Semi-finalist Best Documentary
  • FEEDBACK Female Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    March 19, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Impact Doc Awards
    La Jolla
    United States
    Award of Merit: Documentary Short
  • Berlin Flash Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    Outstanding Achievement Award
  • IndieFEST Film Award

    April 22, 2017
    Award of Merit: Women Filmmaker (Student)
  • Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest
    Bucharest
    Romania
    April 15, 2017
    Best Documentary Nominee
  • Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest
    Bucharest
    Romania
    April 15, 2017
    Best Student Film Nominee
  • BEST INDEPENDENTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
    Karlsruhe
    Germany
    May 10, 2017
    Official Selection
  • Student World Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    May 4, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Exit6 Film Festival
    Basingstoke
    United Kingdom
    September 23, 2017
    Official Selection
  • Winchester Short Film Festival
    Winchester
    United Kingdom
    November 11, 2017
    Official Selection
  • Kortfilmfestival Kalmthout
    Kalmthout
    Belgium
    First Round Selection
  • Fisheye Film Festival
    High Wycombe
    United Kingdom
    October 21, 2017
    Official Selection
  • Chicago Independent Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    June 30, 2018
    Official Selection
Director Biography - adriana falcinelli

Adriana is a film maker based in Southampton who has made three insightful documentaries. With her easy-going style she has the gift of allowing people to open up, enabling them to trust and feel safe in front of camera. She believes documentary making is a therapy for her subjects who share personal inner thoughts and intimate feelings they have not aired before.

Adriana’s documentaries have screened across the world at numerous film festivals, winning semi-finalist at Sorrento Social World, the Merit Award at Impact Docs, Out-standing Achievement at Berlin Flash Film and ‘Best Documentary’ nomination at Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest.

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