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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
  • Project 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
  • 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
  • Twin Rivers Media Festival Experimental Competition
    Asheville, North Carolina
    United States
    March 28, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Extremely Shorts Film Festival
    Houston, Texas (online, limited access)
    United States
    May 15, 2020
    Texas Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Onirica Film Festival
    La Spezia
    Italy
    September 26, 2020
    Italian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • MicroMania Film Festival
    Buffalo, New York (online, limited access)
    United States
    July 25, 2020
    Official Selection
  • 9th Athens International Digital Film Festival
    Athens
    Greece
    October 3, 2020
    Greek Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Wales International Film Festival
    Swansea, Wales
    United Kingdom
    September 18, 2020
    United Kingdom Premiere
    Official Selection and Award Finalist (Illustrated Poem)
  • KinoDrome: International Motion Picture and Screenplay Festival
    Cleveland, Ohio (online, limited access)
    United States
    September 26, 2020
    Ohio Selection Premiere
    Official Selection and "Poetry-Driven Motion Media" category Winner
  • SeeMor Short Film Festival
    Anglesey, Wales
    United Kingdom
    October 17, 2020
    Anglesey Premiere
    Official Selection and "Artists Film" Award Winner
  • Delirium, Dreams, & Nightmares
    Southsea, England
    United Kingdom
    October 31, 2020
    United Kingdom Halloween Virtual Screening Premiere
    Official Selection and Award Finalist
  • Fotogenia Film Poetry and Divergent Narratives Festival
    Mexico City (online, limited access)
    Mexico
    November 14, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Avalonia V
    Ormond Beach, Florida
    United States
    November 7, 2020
    United States Live Screening Premiere
    Official Selection and "Best Fantasy 180" Award Winner
  • REELpoetry 2021
    Houston, Texas (online, limited access)
    United States
    February 25, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Logcinema Art Films
    Pomona, California
    United States
    December 18, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Shawna Shea Memorial Film Festival
    Sturbridge, Massachusetts
    United States
    September 25, 2021
    Massachusetts Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Carmarthen Bay Film Festival 2021
    Llanelli, Wales (online, limited access)
    United Kingdom
    May 17, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Qosm Film Festival 2021
    Reston, Virginia (online, limited access)
    United States
    June 19, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Walthamstow International Film Festival 2021
    London, England
    United Kingdom
    July 10, 2021
    London Premiere
    Official Selection
  • MalatestaShort Film Festival
    Cesena, Italy
    Italy
    November 12, 2021
    Cesena Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Haunted Garage's Horror Fest 2021
    St. Louis, Missouri
    United States
    October 23, 2021
    Missouri Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Canted Angle Film Festival
    Harrison, Arkansas (online, limited access)
    United States
    January 7, 2022
    Arkansas Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Festival Angaelica
    Pasadena, California (online, limited access)
    United States
    December 21, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Trenton Film Festival
    Trenton, New Jersey
    United States
    August 28, 2022
    New Jersey Premiere
    Official Selection
  • 12th International HALF Festival
    Palakkad, Kerala
    India
    September 10, 2022
    Indian Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Adam E. Stone

Adam E. Stone's latest feature film is the poetic essay film "Atmospheric Marginalia" (2022). His films have been featured at over 200 prominent, well-curated festivals worldwide, and have won numerous awards. Short films (poem, essay, or nonverbal) include "Dream Sequence: Stasis" (2025), "Bridge" (2024), "form" (2024), "as the night" (2023), "Tyranny of the Unafflicted" (2023), "If Any" (2021), "Awake" (2021), "Specks and Flashes" (2020), "Elegy for Unfinished Lives" (2020), "an entombing(dis)entombing" (2020), "Declarations" (2019), and "Gods Die Too" (2018). Previous short dance films include "Do Not Forget the Lost" (2019), "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 essay film "Abstractly You Loved Me" (2013), and is one of the co-producers of, and conducted many of the interviews for, the feature-length documentary "Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story" (DVD 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).

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