The Human Experience

LOGLINE:

A grieving father struggles to guide his reluctant son through a funeral as they confront their fears, grapple with their complicated family dynamics, and discover the power of love and imagination in the face of loss.​

PITCH:

A heartfelt dramedy that balances raw emotional truth with surreal, often humorous moments of catharsis. At its core, the film is about grief, legacy, and the gulf between who we become and where we come from.
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The story follows Major Dodge, a man who left his blue-collar roots behind to chase success. When his mother dies, he returns home with his son JR and is forced to face the fractured relationships and repressed grief he’s spent years avoiding. As tensions flare with his sister Jess and his son struggles to understand death, the family’s funeral becomes a battleground of identity, memory, and reconciliation. And yet, amid the emotional chaos, humor and tenderness shine through—in a clown’s wisdom, a doll’s silence, and a child’s resilience.

Stylistically, the film leans into grounded naturalism with poetic flourishes and symbolic touches—think Manchester by the Sea meets Little Miss Sunshine, with a dash of The Florida Project’s emotional intimacy. It’s a story that invites audiences to reflect on how we grieve, how we love, and how we remember.

This screenplay offers a unique blend of character-driven storytelling, emotional authenticity, and subtle, meaningful humor. It’s a narrative that resonates with anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t quite belong—until they realized family isn’t where you come from, it’s what you choose to fight for.