Home Burial

A film adaptation of Robert Frost's poem, Home Burial. A portrait of a wife and her husband struggling to move beyond the grief and anguish from the loss of their child.

The full text of the poem is performed verbatim.

  • Donald Tongue
    Director
  • Robert Frost
    Writer
  • Donald Tongue
    Writer
  • Donald Tongue
    Producer
  • Kate Gilbert
    Key Cast
  • Michael Cobb
    Key Cast
  • Jonathan Olson
    Directors of Photography
  • Jonathan Geddis
    Directors of Photography
  • Jynnifer Macomber
    Production Designers
  • Jonathan Olson
    Editing
  • Vinny Alfano
    Audio Post Production
  • Kate Corwin-Olson
    Production Sound/Grip
  • JoAnn Rivera
    Hair & Makeup Artists
  • Valerie Wisneski
    Script Supervisors
  • Kelsee Allan
    Script Supervisors
  • Rebecca Howland
    Location Scout
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 56 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4k (4096 x 2160)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Donald Tongue

Donald Tongue is a highly skilled writer who is equally skilled at producing and directing. He is the founder of Tongue Mountain Productions (2004) and its subsidiary, New World Theatre (2015). While primarily focused on creating works for the stage, he has also written, produced, and directed a thirteen-episode web series, Candid Candidate, and a three-episode audio play series, Snow Fall.

As a first-time filmmaker, Donald has turned his focus and passion for storytelling to cinema. His first short film, Home Burial, beautifully captures the anguish and grief in the poem by Robert Frost. This is the first in a series of movies he plans to produce as part of his Poetry In Motion film project.

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Director Statement

While researching the life and works of Robert Frost for a commissioned play, I discovered that many of Frost's poems have a beautiful dramatic quality. Chief among this style of verse is Home Burial, a profoundly personal poem for Frost, who, having suffered the tragic death of two of his children, keenly understood the toll it can have on a marriage.

I was immediately drawn to the potential of adapting this work to film. The poem is a two-hander, with the husband and wife grappling with their grief in conflicting ways that create an incredible chasm. Their argument is raw and poignant, capturing the complex emotions of loss.

In my adaptation, I have stayed true to the spirit of Frost's poem and honored it by including the poem's full text in the film.

While reading the poem is certainly a very moving experience, this powerful and moving story takes on a whole new dimension as you see it brought to life on screen.