Experiencing Interruptions?

The Art of Grieving

Following the death of his 35-year-old brother and faced with the emotional toll of grief, an artist delves into a year-long project to paint every day through intuitive abstract painting as a way to process grief and share his process with others. Along the way, this opens the doors to new conversations, ultimately urging the question: why isn't grief addressed better in Western culture? As a culmination to this year of painting, the 365 paintings are assembled into a final massive 10 ft x 20 ft image to represent a year of grief and further spur conversation over the subject.

  • Preston Zeller
    Director
  • Preston Zeller
    Writer
  • Cid Sanchez-Condoluci
    Producer
  • Preston Zeller
    Producer
  • Preston Zeller
    Key Cast
  • Lindsay Lederman
    Key Cast
  • Roman Hernandez
    Cinematographer
  • Ariel Rosete
    Cinematographer
  • Isaiah Pitts
    Editors
  • Natalie Winne
    Editors
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Art, Grieving, Death
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Alex Nohe/Blood Sweat Honey
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Preston Zeller

Following the passing of my brother in 2019, I began a multi-year long project of painting a day for a year straight and the creation of a documentary about how people process grief. This is called "The Art of Grieving" or TAG for short.

With regards to film, my formal experience started at Chapman University's Dodge College film school. During my time there, I also lived in Cannes and worked at the festival for 2 consecutive years. Post-college, I worked at ICM and a number of other production companies and studios.

My brand, Zellerhaus Art, focuses ok working with art consultants and businesses to place my own abstract artwork in commercial settings. This includes commissions, originals, and prints.

For 12+ years, I spent my career in a multitude of startups, agencies, and high-growth $25-100M+ tech companies building out key marketing functions. My main focus in these companies was digital marketing, branding, and cross-functional strategic initiatives like M&A transitions and operational efficiency.

Combined with my experience in digital marketing and branding, I'm using these skills to raise awareness for how to deal with grief in a healthy manner.

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Director Statement

Thank you for your time in reading my biography. Since 2019, I've been deep into the topic of grief and having open discussions with people since then through my own loss and this project. It's only validated the need for this perspective to be shared and help create critical mass along with the other grief-oriented projects out there and change the way we view the conversation in culture.