Every Ghost Has An Orchestra
Truth hides in the margins and the artist’s role is to point to it. The question of what happens after we die is a universal question explored by paranormal researcher and experimental composer Michael Esposito. He straddles the line between spiritual and material and asks the audience to reflect on our purpose, legacy and what our actions say about who we are.
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Shayna ConnellyDirectorGardening At Night, signals: where do we go from here?, Blunt Force Trauma, Mistreated and Wild
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Shayna ConnellyWriter
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Sharon MooneyProducerReunion, The Popcorn Kid, Scarlet, Horns. Bells, Whistles.
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Michael EspositoKey Cast
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Justine BurchallEditor
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Seth EkbergDirector of Photographysignals: where do we go from here?
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Travis DuffieldSound Design and MixGardening at Night, Yours Is Not the Taj Mahal
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Project Type:Documentary, Short
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Runtime:7 minutes 10 seconds
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Completion Date:January 1, 2017
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Production Budget:1,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Columbus International Film and Video FestivalColumbus, OH
April 22, 2017
Humanities Division Award of Distinction -
Athens International Film and Video FestivalAthens, OH
April 8, 2017 -
Azelea Film FestivalMobile, AL
April 8, 2017 -
South Georgian Bay Film Festival
April 1, 2017
Silver Award for Best International Documentary -
Unrestricted View Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
April 29, 2017
UK Premiere -
Port Orchard Film Festival
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Moving Pictures Film FestivalAntwerp
Belgium
March 31, 2017 -
Canton Film FestivalCanton, OH
United States
May 28, 2017 -
Oak Cliff Film FestivalDallas, TX
June 10, 2017 -
San Francisco Documentary FestivalSan Francisco, CA
June 12, 2017 -
Brooklyn Film FestivalNYC, NY
June 4, 2017
New York Premiere -
Tulsa Overground Film FestivalTulsa, OK
May 5, 2017 -
Snake Alley Film FestivalBurlington, IA
June 24, 2017 -
Cardiff Mini Film FestivalCardiff
United Kingdom -
Still Voices Short Film FestivalBallymahon Co, Langford
Ireland
August 18, 2017
Irish Premiere -
Middle Coast Film FestivalBloomington, IN
August 12, 2017
Best Documentary Short -
Seattle Transmedia and Independent Film FestivalSeattle
July 22, 2017 -
Oceanside Film FestivalOceanside, CA
August 8, 2017 -
San Diego Underground Film FestivalSan Diego, CA
August 27, 2017 -
Sydney Underground Film FestivalSydney
Australia
September 17, 2017
Australian Premiere -
Whitespace Gallery Short Shorts 2017Atlanta, GA
August 19, 2017 -
The Moonrise Film FestivalWells, BC
Canada
August 26, 2017 -
South London ShortsLondon
United Kingdom
October 5, 2017 -
Bushwick Film FestivalBrooklyn, NY
October 14, 2017 -
Adirondack Film FestivalGlenn Falls, NY
October 20, 2017 -
Red Rock Film FestivalCedar City, UT
October 18, 2017 -
Tampa Bay UndergroundTampa, FL
December 1, 2017 -
British Documentary FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
December 4, 2017 -
Headline International Film FestivalVancouver
Canada
Merit Award -
docLAHOMAOklahoma City, OK
January 14, 2018 -
South Texas UndergroundCorpus Christi, TX
January 27, 2018
South Texas Premiere -
Deep In the Heart Film FestivalWaco, TX
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Big Sky Documentary FestivalMissoula, MT
February 22, 2018
Montana Premiere -
Big Muddy Film FestivalCarbondale, IL
February 20, 2018
Best Documentary Short -
Trenton Film FestivalTrenton, NJ
March 23, 2018 -
Blackbird Film FestivalCortland, NY
April 21, 2018 -
Derby Film FestivalDerby
United Kingdom
May 6, 2018
Paracinema Shorts -
Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicagoland Shorts IV Premiere)Chicago, IL
May 29, 2018 -
Chicago Underground Film FestivalChicago, IL
June 9, 2018 -
Palm Springs ShortFestPalm Springs, CA
June 23, 2018 -
Walla Walla Movie CrushWalla Walla, WA
July 7, 2018 -
San Francisco Frozen Film FestivalSan Francisco, CA
July 22, 2018 -
Milwaukee Short Film FestivalMilwaukee, WI
September 8, 2018 -
Square Lake Film and Music FestivalStillwater, MN
August 11, 2018 -
Planet 9 Film FestivalChicago, IL
October 21, 2018 -
Antimatter [Media Art]Vancouver, BC
Canada
October 14, 2018
Western Canada Premiere -
The Valley Film FestivalLos Angeles, CA
November 3, 2018 -
Ithaca FantastikIthaca, NY
November 3, 2018
Necessary Voices Award -
Videodrunk Film FestivalToronto
Canada
December 1, 2018 -
Philip K. Dick Sci-Fi and Supernatural Film FestivalSanta Ana, CA
March 15, 2019 -
Midwest WeirdfestEau Claire, WI
March 8, 2019
Best Documentary Short -
West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film FestivalMorgantown
April 26, 2019 -
Sunderland ShortsSunderland
United Kingdom
May 9, 2019 -
Changing Face International Film FestivalSydney
Australia -
International Free Thought Film FestivalPittsburgh
September 21, 2019
Distribution Information
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Full Spectrum Features: Chicagoland Shorts Vol. 4Country: United StatesRights: Video on Demand, Video / Disc
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TruIndieCountry: United StatesRights: Video on Demand
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Spectacle TheaterCountry: United StatesRights: Theatrical
Shayna Connelly is a filmmaker based in Chicago whose work explores hauntings, liminality and the boundaries between documentary, experimental and fiction filmmaking. Inspired by a book on haunted houses shelved in the non-fiction section of her childhood library, Connelly’s lifelong obsession with ghosts led her to explore trauma, place, identity and the link between fear and desire. Her hybrid approach to cinema questions the strict categorization of film modes and genres. She enjoys breaking cinematic rules regarding character, action and structure while exploring subjectivity, surrealism and abstraction.
Her films have won awards at Big Muddy Film Festival, Berlin Short Film Festival, Cinepocalypse, Women in Horror Film Festival, The Artists' Forum Festival of the Moving Image, Milwaukee Women's Film Festival, Columbus International and IC Docs. FUCKED UP POINT BLANK is the 7th in an eight film series called A MEMORY PALACE FOR GHOSTS. Films in the series have screened over 200 festivals including Palm Springs International ShortsFest, Chicago Underground, Sydney Underground, San Diego Underground, Brooklyn Film Festival, Bushwick Film Festival, Chicago Feminist Film Festival, Antimatter [Media Art], Ithaca Fantastik, Ann Arbor Film Festival and Athens International among others. Newcity Magazine named her one of Chicago's 50 Screen Gems in 2016 and 2018.
In 2013 my husband Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks) recorded vocals for experimental composer Michael Esposito. In talking to me about Michael’s work, Chris used the terms ‘paranormal researcher’ and ‘composer’ interchangeably, which piqued my interest.
Ghosts and ghost stories fascinated me as a kid. And this ghost-lover grew up to be a music collector – the obsessions linked by mystery and a sense of awe of something greater than myself. It wasn’t until I started talking to Michael that this connection became apparent. What makes him stand apart from other paranormal researchers is that he goes beyond trying to gather proof of an afterlife and integrates his EVP findings into art. Research into physics, principles of recording and communication theory is also crucial to his process but his creative work communicates a fundamental truth about life and creativity that is difficult to express through words.
In terms of process I identify with Michael's struggle between the ethereal and concrete. At the time I was interviewing him I was haunted by the death of two close friends, the impact of which I was exploring in other films ('Gardening At Night' and 'Yours Is Not the Taj Mahal'). My work has always existed along the boundaries of experimental, fiction and documentary. To me truth exists at the margins, where edges blur and converge and where ambiguity reigns. Truth is elusive. Truth and belief are also often mixed together but as the Dadaists showed, collisions arising from ‘accidental context’ cause the truth to emerge. This is the idea underscoring 'Every Ghost Has An Orchestra'.