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Conversations Between Shifts

Conversations Between Shifts chronicles the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of a nurse and her son.

  • Jeanette Alvarez-Basem
    Key Cast
    "Jeanette, Mom (Herself)"
  • Ben Basem
    Key Cast
    "Himself"
  • Carmen Lydia Escobar
    Key Cast
    "Grandma Giga (Herself)"
  • Larry Basem
    Key Cast
    "Larry (Himself)"
  • Ben Basem
    Director
  • Ben Basem
    Cinematography
  • Ben Basem
    Location Sound
  • Ben Basem
    Executive Producer
  • Eden Strachan
    Executive Producer
  • Yeshim Kayim-Yanko
    Associate Producer
  • Zeyneb Henderson
    Associate Producer
  • Zeyneb Henderson
    Story Consultant
  • Ben Basem
    Post-Production Supervisor
  • Yeshim Kayim-Yanko
    Editor
  • Tommy Gonzalez
    Editor
  • Will Hopper
    Editor
  • Yeshim Kayim-Yanko
    Visual Effects
  • Norman Staub
    Colorist
  • Gracie Neagoy
    Sound Supervisor
  • Gracie Neagoy
    Sound Editor
  • Jack Liden
    Sound Editor
  • Ben Basem
    Assistant Sound Editor
  • Jayson Nuñez
    Assistant Sound Editor
  • Alex Stuart
    Re-Recording Mixer
  • Gracie Neagoy
    Sound Mixer
  • Jack Liden
    Sound Mixer
  • Rebeka Kashkin
    Sound Mixer
  • Cara Moses
    Composer
  • Jeanette Alvarez-Basem
    Additional Footage
  • Madison Carroll
    Additional Footage
  • Madison Carroll
    Subtitles
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    29 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 10, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    2,200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Ithaca College (Undergrad)
  • FIDBA, International Documentary Film Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    December 8, 2022
    International Premiere, South-American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Heartland International Film Festival
    Indianapolis, IN
    United States
    October 9, 2022
    Official Selection, Indy Shorts Awards Showcase
  • Chicago Onscreen
    Chicago, IL
    United States
    August 29, 2022
    Chicago Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Film
    Indianapolis
    United States
    July 24, 2022
    Midwest Premiere
    Official Selection, Best Indiana Student Film
  • Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
    Missoula, MT
    United States
    February 26, 2022
    Northwest Premiere
    Official Selection
  • IDFA Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    Official Selection Docs for Sale 2021
  • Flickfair Film Festival
    Online
    May 1, 2022
    Official Selection
  • San Diego Latino Film Festival
    San Diego, CA
    United States
    March 12, 2022
    California Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Oregon Documentary Film Festival
    The Dalles, Oregon
    United States
    January 22, 2022
    Official Nomination - Best Documentary
  • International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    November 10, 2021
    Honorable Mention - Best Documentary Short
  • Workers Unite! Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    October 8, 2021
    World Premiere
    Best Documentary Short
  • Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival
    Providence, Rhode Island
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • The San Francisco International Festival of Short Films
    San Fransisco
    United States
    Short-Listed
Director Biography - Ben Basem

Ben Basem is a documentary filmmaker, sound recordist, sound designer, piano technician, and Hoosier. His directorial debut, Conversations Between Shifts, has screened and been awarded internationally. Basem’s nonfiction work seeks to identify who people are by burying real events within their sensory experiences, and aims for character introspection rather than tangible truths.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The story of Conversations Between Shifts unfolded in real time. Every word and image breathed significance, both in my mother’s life and the environment of my hometown. I accumulated over six hundred hours of visuals, voice memos, and field recordings. These artifacts formed an ebb and flow of eyewitness accounts and artful tone poems; the empathy and care my mother exuded juxtaposed an apathetic and immutable world.

My time spent quartered away at home during the pandemic informed my approach to telling my mother’s story. With nothing to do but shoot and watch films, the documentary became a self-reflexive piece both about my mother’s experiences and my experience learning how to tell that story. My inspirations grew with the filmmakers I would slowly discover and love with time. I was heavily influenced by films like RaMell Ross’s Hale County, Josh Kriegman’s campaign doc Weiner, Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation, Caveh Zahedi’s In the Bathtub of the World, and the hand-painted animated shorts of Stan Brakhage.

Conversations Between Shifts articulates the emotions of Jeanette and first responders around the globe. It unveils my mother's spiritual truths and emotional realities during this historic moment. Upon returning to this piece, future generations will experience a glimpse of what it was like laboring and living through this crisis.