Four years ago…

Four years ago this month, we set off from California to Denver, at the beginning of an 11,000-mile road trip to begin filming In the Wake of Our Ancestors.

Being new to filmmaking, I knew making a documentary would be a long discovery process. What I didn’t anticipate were our many delays while I’ve tended my dad’s health as his sole caregiver.

Over the past four years, we’ve had to pause production for a major surgery, hundreds of infusions and scans and appointments, and two emergency hospitalizations. All to say, ancestral tending is at the heartcenter of my life in these years—in our home, in my ancestral healing work, and with the film. The great news is that my 82-year-old dad is stable at the moment, cancer-free with clear lungs and a heart that’s pumping more powerfully than it has in years.

Through it all, we’re making real progress on the film! In January and February, I completed a process called “pulling the selects,” in which I watched all 65 hours of our powerful footage and pulled out around 22 hours to work with in the next round of editing. Culling two-thirds of footage from our beautiful interviews and dynamic location walkthroughs was such a feat of discernment, where so much goodness was left on the proverbial cutting room floor—and everything left is exceptionally poignant, inspiring, powerful, and fascinating.

This week I’m starting the next phase: Going through the six hours of selected footage from our Connecticut filming, and pulling the most powerful parts into potential scenes for the film. I can’t wait to tell you how it goes—stay tuned, and thank you for walking with us through this winding and beautiful process!

 

Much love to you and your ancestors,

Angela and Harry and our sweet senior pup Mr Sunshine

 

P.S. Our supporters keep us going! You can now make a monthly or one-time donation to our film through our nonprofit fiscal sponsor, the Center for Independent Documentary. (This year for the first time, individuals in the U.S. can write-off $1000 in donations to nonprofits even when claiming the standard deduction.) And if you’d like to be more involved, contact us to learn how to become an Executive Producer or Co-Producer on the film.