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Death - Out of the Shadows

There are over 8 billion people in the world. Every single one of them will die, about 2 people every second. In the United States alone, over 8,000 people die every day. The time has come to bring death out of the shadows and break the cycle of fear and trauma. In this one hour documentary, we talked to death doulas, grief counselors, doctors and first responders to find out why people are afraid of this necessary part of life, and what we, as a culture, can do to improve our relationship with death.

  • Russell Stemper
    Director
  • Genia Stemper
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Social, Life, Death
  • Runtime:
    56 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 24, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Touchstone Independent Film Festival
    Cocoa Beach, Florida
    United States
    Honorable Mention
Director Biography - Russell Stemper

Russell has worked as a producer and director in television for 30 years and is a 20 year member of the DGA. He has worked in every area of production and post production, including producing and directing weekly docudrama segments for nationally syndicated programming, directing live multi-camera events, and producing and directing complete taped one hour shows. He is also an accomplished videographer and editor, having worked on hundreds of commercials, company profiles and visual web and social media presentations. He is a FAA licensed and experienced drone pilot/videographer. This is his first full length film.

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Director Statement

After the experience of my father-in-law's death and our dealings with end-of-life care and the current medical system, my wife Genia and I produced a one hour documentary on death and dying in America. In this one hour documentary, we talked to death doulas, grief counselors, doctors and first responders to find out why people are afraid of this necessary part of life, and what we, as a culture, can do to improve our relationship with death.