Elegy for Unfinished Lives

A ghost poem film. Directed, written, filmed, edited, read, and produced by Adam E. Stone. Ghost woman paintings by Saribenne Evesong (1931-2009). Download HD version from Vimeo link. Available as an Apple Pro Res 422 (1.55 GB) version upon request. Use "CC" button on Vimeo player for closed captions, via Web VTT file. Text of poem:

As if I were more than a ghost, she loved me
because I took the time to listen
Among the weeds, below the trestle
alive ... alive ... in the animal instant

Then .. she was quiet ... lost again
I sat with her shade, at the edge of the river
watched her cast her shreddings into its flow

I wondered if they even tried to know her
fathom the ink spots staining her hands

She lived a glorious life in those letters
Awkward ... perhaps ... but understood
Destined, she was certain, to be remembered
Not thrown alone into an unmarked grave

"Does a love that was never alive ever die?"
She riddles me, over infinite waves
Her laughter shakes the birds from their trees
Her skeletal shoulders slip through my hands

Tell me what it means to be human ...
pushed down by a wind, pulled under by a sea?
We're less and less with every breath
and yet we live to outlive the rest

Copyright 2020 by Adam E. Stone
All rights reserved.

  • Adam E. Stone
    Director
  • Adam E. Stone
    Writer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Producer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Key Cast
    “Narrator/reader”
  • Saribenne Evesong
    Original Paintings
  • Adam E. Stone
    Cinematographer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Editor
  • Film Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Poem film, Video Poem, Poetry film, Experimental, Micro-short, 2-minute film, short, art film, arthouse
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Japan, Taiwan, United States
  • Film Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FilmArte Festival
    Madrid
    Spain
    June 5, 2020
    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Adam E. Stone

Adam E. Stone's short films include "Elegy for Unfinished Lives" (2020), "an entombing(dis)entombing" (2020), "Do Not Forget the Lost" (2019), "Declarations" (2019), "Gods Die Too" (2018), "Summer Friend: A Ballet Film" (2016), "Resting Places: A Ballet Film" (2015), and "Janet: A Silent Ballet Film" (2014). He also is the writer, producer, and co-director of the feature-length fictional film "Abstractly You Loved Me" (2013), and is one of the co-producers of, and conducted many of the interviews for, the documentary "Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story" (limited release in 2018, DVD in 2019). In 2012, Stone wrote and produced the spoken-word ballet "A Life Unhappening," which is about the impact of one woman's Alzheimer's disease on three generations of her family. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and produced the DVD novel "Cache Girl Saves the World: A Novel in Visions." He is also the author of three conventional print novels: "Xamon Song" (2006), "Kingston Fugue" (2007), and "The New Harmonies" (2009). His films have been Official Selections of, and have screened at, more than 75 festivals around the world.

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