Silent Music : A documentary film

Festival Submission Frenzy

silentmusicblog — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:47:06 +0000

Over the past few weeks, the Silent Music team has been heads down, sending out submissions to various fests, including Berlin, SIFF, Slamdance, SXSW and True / False… After working on this film for so long, it is surreal to know that the film is finally being sent out into the universe! Many more submissions are coming up in the near future, including Full Frame and Hot Docs, so fingers crossed the universe will be smiling favourably upon us, putting us one step closer to giving this film the audience we believe it deserves!

At this point, any help we can get with garnering awareness about the film would be golden! You can help by sending out the link to the film’s trailer to anyone who you think would appreciate our story: http://www.silentmusicthefilm.com/trailer.html …more news to follow soon!

Oscar Award-Winning Director Alex Gibney has Gotten Involved – So Can You!

silentmusicblog — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:30:33 +0000

We are extremely excited to have the support of Oscar award-winning director Alex Gibney, who has helped us to obtain fiscal sponsorship for Silent Music. With fiscal sponsorship now in place, this means we can now easily accept tax-free donations to the film. This is a huge deal now that we are in the process of submitting the film to various festivals; preparing to do a professional online; and trying to capture people’s attention – amongst the many other things happening in the background! The only thing slowing us down at this stage is funding – so any help, no matter how small, will go a long way in ensuring that we put the highest quality version of the film out there and that we reach as wide an audience as possible.

For more information about how to make a donation, go to the “Contribute to the Film” page on our website: http://www.silentmusicthefilm.com/contribute.html or contact the Silent Music team at info@silentmusicthefilm.com. In return, donors will receive a credit in the film and will play an important role in ensuring that this labour of love gets the audience that we believe it deserves! If you’re unable to make a donation, you can still show your support by following us on twitter @silentmusicdoc; by making comments on our various blog postings here; and by simply spreading the word about the film to anyone who you think will appreciate it. If we can show that Silent Music has a strong family of followers, it can only lead to good things. So on that note… good things here we come!

- Melissa Gomez, Director / Producer / Writer of Silent Music

Perspective From a Character in the Film

silentmusicblog — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:08:20 +0000

It’s no secret that the subject tackled in Silent Music is a very personal one…. that it touches on topics that many families would find it incredibly difficult to discuss behind closed doors, much less out in the open. So for those of you who may be wondering how my family feels about having this very personal portrait of them placed up on the big screen, I wanted to share some feedback that I recently got from my older sister, Tina, one of the characters in the film:

“It’s hard to be objective when so much of the film touches on things that our family would rather not think about and, much less, discuss…..but ultimately the message I got (and that you resolved within yourself in the film) is that sometimes secrets exist for a reason… The story line is more a portrait of you and your journey to understand the way our family communicates and how that ultimately impacts your own feelings about marriage and family life. The most important thing to note is that today… we are still a family, still love each other and as ever will do anything to help one another” – Tina Layne, Character in Silent Music

Preparing Submission to TIFF

silentmusicblog — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:04:52 +0000

After a bit of a hiatus to deal with some life happenings, we are pushing onwards to prepare Silent Music for submission to TIFF at the end of this week! This includes a rough sound mix and colour grade and cleaner and clearer subtitles and graphics – all this with the full expectation of doing a professional online of the film within the next few weeks. It’s incredibly exciting to see it all coming together… and can I say that Andrea’s beautifully haunting composition keeps getting better and better each time I watch the film??

Also in the works is the setting up of Perspective Pictures LLC – my company that will be behind the film… the process of setting this up has been a complete education in itself… and trust me, I still have lots to learn! I’ve also sought legal advice from Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in New York… all in all it feels great to be doing this the right way! It’s taken us a REALLY long time to get here, so there’s no point in cutting corners at this point.

Fingers crossed TIFF will be the platform to launch the film and help speed up everything that’s left to do… in any case… it’s ever onwards! I cannot wait to let go of this film and see how the world receives it! As the time to let go draws nearer, I feel more and more blessed to have such a loving family that trusts me to share such a personal story… without their openness none of this would have been possible. So I am feeling incredibly grateful! On that note, it’s back to subtitling…

- Director / Writer / Producer of Silent Music

Producer back from Toronto Documentary Forum

silentmusicblog — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:48:56 +0000

I just returned to Vancouver after having attended a fabulous Documentary Film Festival and Industry Event in Toronto called Hot Docs and The Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF) . BC Film graciously sponsored part of my expenses through their “Attending Markets” funds available. Hot Docs and TDF was a place for me to really see what was happening in the International World of Documentary film making. With numerous lectures from industry people from around the world and an exciting two day pitching session from filmmakers worldwide, I left having made many contacts in the industry. I also passed around the film to various broadcasters and distributors who showed a keen interest in the subject matter.

We continue to move ahead in completing the film as the Toronto International Film Festival application deadline approaches. It is thrilling to know that people in the industry are watching the film and that Silent Music is starting to make its way out there. I also realized that patience and persistence are the two elements all producers and directors need to maintain. Things will happen, it’s just a matter of when.

Lianna Walden – Producer

Picture Lock!

silentmusicblog — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:10:56 +0000

I’m so happy that we just picture locked the film last Sunday! After 5 years of editing, it’s a relief to finally have that off my plate. And with the score complete, the only remaining phases are the audio mix/design, graphics and colour. We’re still hoping to get the funds in to finish the online of the film properly. But, the audio tracks are now in the sound editor’s hands, so that is the next phase of the film to be completed. - Jay Prychidny, Producer/Writer/Editor

Sad to be finished scoring a beautiful documentary…

silentmusicblog — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:36:21 +0000

Its a strange feeling for me to be honest as although I’m thrilled to have completed the work on Silent Music, I’m strangely sad to be finishing work on what I think is a really beautiful documentary.

It must have all along been very very odd for Melissa to be working on this project – one I know that she decided to make, but one that I’d imagine has grown and grown far beyond Melissa’s own expectations. And I have to say, from my own personal point of view, that I have grown incredibly fond of Melissa’s entire family as I have watched their very different personalities and stories unfold. It is a strong testament to Melissa’s film-making skills that she manages to convey each of their different characters with such a skillful and delicate touch.

As far as working with Melissa, I have genuinely loved working with her on her documentary. It has been very challenging at times I will admit, but I have relished these moments along the way. I personally, have learnt a great deal from this working experience which in some ways has been a far more valuable lesson to me, than had everything been smooth sailing throughout….

I really hope that this documentary is as successful as it deserves to be – it is an extraordinarily haunting story, one with great depths of emotion and great tenderness in the telling, despite the extraordinary obstacles Melissa encountered.

- Andrea Caro, Music Composer

Score is almost complete!

silentmusicblog — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:08:50 +0000

With the score mere days away from completion, I have to say that I am absolutely thrilled with how it has been turning out! I’ve been listening to the same random collection of disparate temp tracks for so long (over a year!), that it is incredible to watch a cohesive score bring out all the nuances and layers in the story. Our very talented composer has written a score that just brings the whole tale to vivid life and draws the viewer into the world of the film. I’m so excited that we are one step closer to finally completing the film, and can’t wait for people to see it with the final score. I think it’s a truly impressive piece of work! - Jay Prychidny, Producer/Writer/Editor

From the beginning…

silentmusicblog — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:41:12 +0000

I’ve been working on the film Silent Music since Melissa first contacted me about it in early 2005. At the time, I would never have guessed that this endeavor would consume over 5 years of my life, basically spanning my entire professional editing career.

Melissa first contacted me to do a re-edit of a documentary short she had made about her parents, but this quickly ballooned into a much larger project that involved an entire re-conceptualization of the film, hours of newly shot footage, and the insertion of Melissa into the film as the main character. Most people in my life who knew about the project would react in shock and surprise when they heard I was still working on it. ”You’re still working on that deaf movie?” they’d ask with a scrunched up nose, and so I’d usually avoid talking about it. But the film was a continual source of learning and growth for me, not only in my professional field, but in my personal life as well. It informed how I view the importance of honesty and openness in long-term relationships, as well as how to make peace with the things in your life that you don’t like but are unable to control.

As the end of the film is finally in sight, with completion just a couple months away, I can’t wait for this project to be finally out of my hands and given to the world. And I just hope it will have the same impact on other people’s lives that it has had on my own. - Jay Prychidny, Producer/Writer/Editor

Pieces Slotting Into Place…

silentmusicblog — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:24:14 +0000

So, here with two weeks to go until the music will be completed and dare I say that things are going smoothly with everything full steam ahead. Its increasingly a real joy to work on this project – now that pieces are really slotting in to place with the overall score. Its always testing, going through the wasteland of the midway point, where you’re hopeful things are gelling and making sense overall, but you simply can’t see the wood for the trees. But as you near the finishing line, themes start to recur, references begin to make sense and for me, the music almost takes on a life of its own.
Tonight in particular, tracks are keeping me up, late here in London – but are a joy to work on. And the more I watch this documentary, the more I love it and love what Melissa has managed to achieve with this film. Its an amazing story, told beautifully and intimately and as a composer, is a dream to work with. I’m thrilled to have worked on this together again, as we did before on the brilliant ‘Share and Share Alike’ and have managed this time to overcome transatlantic communication, which at times hasn’t been easy for either of us. But, true to form for Melissa and so aptly for this particular film about the importance of communication itself, we are on schedule to achieve something really special I think, with a score I am (hopeful to be) proud of…. – Andrea Caro, Composer