Following a 10 year plague, the church sitting at the center of this town mysteriously opens its doors and invites its members in, becoming a stage for grief and trauma.
This narrative short film tells the story of when grief meets faith.
A disease has swept through this town killing off its members one by one and leaving the hopeless behind. In the midst of this suffering and grief, the church, which sits at the center of this town, closed its doors. Ten years later, mysteriously, the church doors open and invites its members in. During the span of one day, we witness the result of intense grief turned to faith.
This film explores the diversity of grief and the need to be comforted by a God at the realizations of one’s own humanity.
“In The Mourning” is a nod to the human experience storytelling a la Berry Jenkins and Melina Matsoukas. Emotional, cinematic and deeply rooted in character. It’s best described as First Reformed meets The Leftovers set in the Black Church.
TONE
CREATIVE APPROACH
“In The Mourning” is a story that balances through personal grief and collective emotion within the context of faith.
Deeply intimate and energizing, this film draws from the Black Church as inspiration. We’ll draw from old Negro spirituals and hymnals to add an emotional depth and levity to support the story arc.
We'll encourage the camera to be an active participant by using a balance of shaky handheld style footage and smooth cinematic shots to provide context, intimacy and convey emotion through the film by allowing the audience to feel apart of the journey.
This film is meant to be, at it’s core, an honest depiction of faith and humanity.
INSPIRATION
“I grew up in the pentecostal church. My father was a preacher and my mother, a minister. My earliest memory within the church is of my mother catching the Holy Ghost. I was five. I remember the distinct, consuming, energizing and intimate feel of worship: people danced, screamed, ran, cried, and it was overwhelming. Yet, even at five, I believed.
Grief is a fascinating experience. Years later, when my father passed away from Covid in 2020, my belief system and faith shattered. While we all, collectively have experienced the effects of Covid as a country, we have different testimonies. Some experienced great joy in the midst of collective heartbreak. Some of you are grateful for your time. Some are still mending the brokenness of those years. Some are angry. Some have developed mental health issues. There is not a singular way to experience collective tragedy. This film aims to show that very thing.
This film was ultimately inspired by a singular moment: Easter 2021. It was the first time many people went back to church since the original lockdown. While I, having lost a father and grandfather during this time, returned to the house of God angry and anxious, others danced, and praised God with extreme joy. Grief doesn’t have a singular face.
“In The Mourning” is an ode to grief and its relationship with faith. It is meant to be a mirror of its experience and a dedication to those now living on the otherside, more specifically, my father: Francois Valere Merlain. Rest in perfect peace.”
—Naomi Merlain
Writer & Director of In the Mourning
CHARACTERS
JOHANNES is older man who is grieving everything he's lost, and fighting ptsd, as he hallucinates images of his dead family members. He’s a desperate believer searching for a God that will be his hope and give him a solution to everything he's experienced. He’ll go to lead the church towards a spiritual awakening.
THOMAS (17) is a teenage boy who is skeptical and observant, testing every spirit and demonstration of faith he sees. He is an unbeliever who shows us the gaps in the events happening around us.
LOTUS (20s) is a woman with crippling anxiety. The weight of her grief leaves her mute but her actions are loud and suffocating. She may not verbally speak, but her expression tells the viewer everything they need to know.
ISAAC (6) the youngest of three boys. He’s innocent in every way and blindly follows his brothers out of a desperate need to be accepted by them. He is the first of his brothers to touch the cross when his mother asks him to, the first to get baptized and in the end, he’ll be the first to die.