Private Project

Teddy, Out of Tune

With a piano strapped to the back of his truck, a nomadic street musician drives 2,000 miles north to Canada on an emotional mission to spread his mother's ashes. Along the way he encounters a peculiar mix of friends and strangers that allow him to share more about his complicated history with mental health and abuse.

  • Daniel Freeman
    Director
  • Drew Connick
    Writer
  • Daniel Freeman
    Writer
  • Daniel Freeman
    Producer
  • Tom E. Brown
    Producer
    Pushing Dead
  • Drew Connick
    Producer
  • Layton Hebert
    Producer
  • Ivan Narez
    Producer
  • Drew Connick
    Key Cast
    "Teddy"
  • Erin Manker
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Melissa Vardey
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Nick Mansfield
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Peter Hawks Cameron
    Key Cast
    "Blurred Face Man"
  • Daniel Freeman
    Editor
  • Julie Stallone
    Associate Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Road Movie, Character Study, Drama, Music Biography, Experimental Documentary, docufiction, Hybrid
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 6 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.91 or 1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Bushwick Film Festival
    Brooklyn, New York
    October 25, 2020
    New York Premiere (virtual)
    Programmers' Choice Award - Narrative Feature
  • Mill Valley Film Festival
    Mill Valley, California
    October 9, 2020
    California Premiere (virtual)
    US Indies Selection
  • Maryland Film Festival
    Baltimore, Maryland
    United States
    June 14, 2020
    World Premiere (virtual)
    Official Selection
  • Ashland Independent Film Festival
    Ashland, Oregon
    April 29, 2021
  • Gasparilla International Film Festival

    United States
    Grand Jury Prize - Narrative Features
Director Biography - Daniel Freeman

Daniel Freeman is a filmmaker based in Berkeley, California. He is currently a FilmHouse resident within the SFFILM artist development program. His debut feature Teddy, Out of Tune received the Programmers' Choice award for best narrative feature at the 2020 Bushwick Film Festival and was selected to the Maryland and Mill Valley Film Festivals. He is currently in development on his second feature film, If You Hum at the Right Frequency, about an experimental artist residency set in the woods of northern California. Daniel blends fiction and documentary approaches to create a hybrid style rooted in following earnest characters as they attempt to find healing through art and human connection.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Teddy, Out of Tune is a hybrid feature film created by family and strangers along the deserts, highways, and forests of the American West. The title subject, "Teddy", is a fictional character played by actor and writer Drew Connick. However, almost all of the other subjects we meet along the road are existing on camera without any alteration to their true identity, giving the film an unmistakably real and natural feel. Shot and edited in a documentary verite style - the film plays with additional layers of reality through its inclusion of old home movies and behind the scenes GoPro footage that gives viewers an unrestrained look into our makeshift production. So when asked if our film is either a narrative or a doc, we like to say, "both".

The film was shot with a shoestring production budget over the course of 20 days and 2,000 miles between Arizona and Canada. This was made possible due to our passionate team, resourceful spirit, and generous in-kind donations from folks all across the map. We believe our hybrid approach resulted in a product that balances fiction with reality through an earnest and heartwarming lens. Our goal is not to deceive, but simply to make something honest and strange that audiences can connect with on a human level.

We look forward to the possibility of sharing more about ourselves and our peculiar production. Thank you very much for your consideration.