Seppuku

A young doctor on the front lines in New York City is faced with a difficult decision: should she continue working during the pandemic, or leave for Asia to heal herself? She chooses the latter. The aftermath is hauntingly similar to the tenets of the Japanese ritual of seppuku. After one of her final shifts as a resident, she takes off her white coat and stethoscope and delves into a world where medicine, poetry, film, and Japanese culture collide.

  • Kimberly Lovie Murdaugh
    Director
  • Kimberly Lovie Murdaugh
    Writer
  • Kimberly Lovie Murdaugh
    Producer
  • Kimberly Lovie Murdaugh
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The Film and Video Poetry Symposium
    Los Angeles
    United States
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Kimberly Lovie Murdaugh

Kimberly Lovie is a doctor and short film director. After she trained at Harvard and Yale, her love for B&W cinema led her to radiology. Outside of the hospital, she became an avid photographer, filmmaker, and screenwriter. She made her international photography debut in Seoul in 2021, and short film debut in LA in 2022. Her first TV drama screenplay is in preparation. She was inducted into the International Association of Art (IAA/AIAP) in 2021.

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Director Statement

Filming mainly in black and white, Lovie uses her cameras like x-rays to reveal sacred human spaces. She creates studies of rituals, sexuality, and community bonds - exposing the boundary between life and death.