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Missing Her

When a middle-aged man, coping in a dystopian world, is forced to spread his dead wife's ashes by a government mandated deadline, a stranger's kindness is the only lifeline to help him through the sacred ritual before time runs out.

  • Karl Shefelman
    Director
  • Mike Gerbi
    Writer
  • Jennifer Plotzke
    Producer
  • Mike Gerbi
    Key Cast
    "Douglas"
  • Lena Marano
    Key Cast
    "Josephine"
  • Trent Dawson
    Key Cast
    "Inspector"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Absurd, Fantasy
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 3, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Big Apple Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    November 4, 2023
    World
    Nominee for Best Short
  • Garden State Film Festival
    Asbury Park
    United States
    March 23, 2024
    New Jersey
    Selection
  • Beverly Hills Film Festival
    Beverly Hills/Los Angeles
    United States
    May 1, 2024
    California
    Selection
  • Carmarthen Bay Film Festival - BAFTA Qualifier
    Llandeilo
    United Kingdom
    May 22, 2024
    International
    Selection
  • New York City Independent Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    June 8, 2024
    Winner Best Short
  • Katonah Classic Stage Film Festival
    Bedford
    United States
    August 10, 2024
    Selection
  • Aesthetica Short Film Festival - BAFTA Qualifier
    York
    United Kingdom
    November 6, 2024
    Selection
Director Biography - Karl Shefelman

Karl's short film, MAN ON THE TOWER, based on a true story, recently completed the festival circuit and won several awards including a Remy Award for Best Dramatic Short at the 2021 Worldfest Houston Film Festival.

Karl's debut feature film, LOOKING FOR THE JACKALOPE - a cautionary tale about nostalgia, won the Jury Award for Best Comedy Feature and the Audience Award for Best U.S. Feature at the 2017 Austin Revolution Film Festival. Distributed by Indie Rights Movies, it is now available on Amazon Prime and many other online platforms.

Karl is developing his second feature film project, THE HUNTERS, a coming-of-age adventure. also based on a true story. The script was a Top 50 Script and Semifinalist in the 2015 Nicholl Fellowships Screenplay Competition. It also won an award for Best Screenplay at the 2020 Socially Relevant International Film Festival in New York.

Karl's short film, BILL’S SEAT, won Best Short Film at the St. Louis Int'l Film Festival, 2003. His half-hour period drama, ELYSIAN FIELDS, also won numerous festival awards, including a Mobil Award at the First-run Film Festival at NYU, and a Gold Prize at the World Festival/Houston. The film was distributed and sold to the BBC-2.

In addition, Karl has worked for years as a storyboard and conceptual artist for numerous A-list directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, and Martin Scorsese.

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Karl studied at Kenyon College in Ohio majoring in Studio Art, then moved to New York and received an MFA in Filmmaking from NYU.

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Director Statement

When actor/writer Mike Gerbi sent me his short script, “Missing Her” I was intrigued. It was a drama with a nice quirky feel to it set in a strange fictional world where the act of mourning loved ones is heavily regulated and controlled by an unseen authority. Mike cited the film “The Lobster” as an influence when writing the script. It was a fun challenge in that the first five minutes had no dialogue, just a solitary character being tormented by unseen people slapping strange “Final Notices” on his house. As a very visual director and professional storyboard artist I knew my shots needed to be carefully designed. That along with a great cast, including an amazingly talented child actor, not to mention a hard-working crew on a shoestring budget, made for a very rewarding filmmaking experience.