Experiencing Interruptions?

The Nesting Doll

The day before William relocates his mother to a memory care unit for aging seniors, his estranged brother Richard arrives to collect a box of belongings. Despite their contentious relationship, a document from their childhood inspires the men to search for a missing keepsake which might offer their mother one last happy memory with her two sons.

Filmed in the style of "relatable realism" akin to movies like Still Alice (Alzheimer's) and The King of Marvin Gardens (fraternal bonds), The Nesting Doll delivers a poignant, heartfelt and bittersweet story of memory loss and memory lane.

  • Jeffrey Blake Palmer
    Director
    On the Fringe, Split Costs, A Dawning Darkness
  • Emily Kochman
    Writer
  • Jamie Companeschi
    Producer
  • Rob DiNinni
    Key Cast
    "William Norris"
    Castle Rock, Altar Rock
  • Johnny Halloran
    Key Cast
    "Richard Norris"
  • Kirsten Salpini
    Key Cast
    "Janet"
    Tigress
  • Katharine Sterling
    Key Cast
    "Eleanor Norris"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Family, Dementia, Alzheimer's
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 2, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    7,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD Digital 4K
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Fleder/Rosenberg Short Screenplay Contest
    Boston
    United States
    February 8, 2017
    1st Place
  • 15 Minutes of Fame Film Festival 2018
    Palm Bay
    United States
    Best Short
  • THIRD ACTion Film Festival 2018
    Calgary
    Canada
    Official Selection
  • LIIFE - Long Island International Film Expo 2018
    Long Island
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Oneota Film Festival 2018
    Oneota
    Official Selection
  • Various Artists Independent Film Festival 2018
    Chicago
    United States
    Best Dramatic Short - Nominee
Director Biography - Jeffrey Blake Palmer

Jeffrey Blake Palmer is an independent filmmaker and an optioned and produced screenwriter based in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned an MFA in Cinema and Media Production, with a focus on Directing, at Boston University. His thesis film THE NESTING DOLL, a story of memory loss and memory lane, was written by BU classmate Emily Kochman and received the 2017 Fleder-Rosenberg Short Screenplay Contest's 1st Place award. While in the masters program he also produced the short BREAKDOWN, an anti-romantic comedy thesis film by fellow classmate and colleague J. Logan Alexander.

Jeff's music videos, short films and screenplays have been selected and screened at over 100 festivals, competitions and art events, claiming dozens of awards and recognition to date. His "nightmare parade" fantasy/thriller THE SLEEPING DEEP took Best Screenplay at the 2008 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and is currently a screenplay Finalist at the 2017 Genre Blast Film Festival in Virginia. His short script WORN, a father-son drama, was optioned and produced by Denver's Blue Frost Films and recently won the 2017 Festival Heart Award at the Intendence Film Festival.

Exploring a wide range of styles and genres, Jeff's main goal is collaborating creatively with actors and crew to capture emotional moments where truth and fiction intersect to inspire and entertain. The multi award-winning 20-minute short SPLIT COSTS (Best Director ~ Stories By The River 2017, First Place ~ Destiny City Screenplay Competition 2016) achieves some of that movie magic, offering "emotionally honest, disciplined performances" in a gritty road trip of heartbreak and hope. On twitter @SplitCosts

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Director Statement

The Nesting Doll's subject matter is a combination of two stories from my life. My younger brother, Jay, and I really did bury a time capsule in our childhood backyard, at a home we no longer own. Neither of us know exactly where we buried it or what we put inside. I often wonder if it would be fun to ask the current owners of the house if they might allow us to find out.

The other story comes from my wife's side of the family. Her mother Janet, my mother-in-law, now lives in a memory care unit for seniors with advanced dementia. It is very sad to see my wife lose her mother to this disease, but we both take comfort that she is in a safe place and under medical supervision.

Screenwriter Emily Kochman took these two stories and wove them together to create The Nesting Doll, one family's story of memory loss and memory lane.

I hope you enjoy.