Elizabeth Kallies

Film Synopsis: 

Elizabeth’s grief hasn’t faded in the way she expected and she still struggles to deal with her mom’s death ten years later. In search of understanding, she begins speaking with strangers who’ve also lost someone close. The conversations aren’t tearful ones, they’re charged with frustration. Reflecting on her journey, Elizabeth revisits her old home videos, as it is the only way she can still hear her mom’s voice. In the end, she speaks with her dad and shares what she has discovered about grief with others.

Biography: 

Director Elizabeth Kallies grew up in Wisconsin and studied film at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she wrote, directed, and edited a number of comedic shorts, including Tuned In, a narrative project she produced in collaboration with After Eight Productions during her final year. In 2024, she moved to Edinburgh, Scotland to pursue a Master’s degree in Documentary Film Directing. There she created Life is But a Dream, a short documentary that explores her grief experience by telling her story through her contributors' comments and archival home videos. Now based in the United Kingdom, she is looking forward to creating more documentaries and, as her endless list of ideas grows, she is hoping to develop her first feature-length soon.

Director's Statement: 

When I set out to make this documentary, I knew it had to come from a personal place and something I deeply understood. There is nothing more interwoven into my life than my grief. Losing my mom so soon has inspired me to look at life differently, be kinder to others, take more risks, and capture everything. Because of this, and quite naively, I thought making a film about grief would be simple, but grief is such a complicated thing. As the film took shape, it became less about the grief itself and more about my frustration with how it lingers. Ten years later, I’m still navigating it and beginning to accept that I may always be. Still, when I tell people my mom has died, they treat me differently. They pity me or avoid conversation. But those of us who grieve are so much more than that. We carry this quietly, every day. But it’s about time we have a space to shout about it. I made this film because it’s a conversation we need to be having. Grief doesn’t end, it evolves. And I think by talking about it we will learn how we can support others the right way.