The Body is a House of Familiar Rooms
A short magical-realist documentary about life and love with a chronic illness, co-directed with artist Lauryn Welch.
Samuel Geiger has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that causes severe chronic pain. This short documentary combines paintings and live-action footage to show how emotions shape his world alongside Lauryn, his partner.
Now showing on Season 6 of POV Shorts on PBS.
Available for free online and on public television in the US. Captions and audio descriptions available. Watch it here.
“The intrusion of this chronic illness into every aspect of his and his partner’s life is explored with whimsical beauty in this gorgeously animated hybrid documentary.”
– Hot Docs Film Festival 2022, Official Selection
“An ethereal yet grounded mixture of techniques that breathes magic into real-life struggles, the film left us not only with a lasting impression of two artists in love, but also just wondering, how the hell did they make this?”
– Tallgrass Film Festival - “Best Vortex Short”
Our collaborators and supporters
Original score by Natalie Dietterich, performed by pianist Sophia Subbayya Vastek and clarinetist Rane Moore
Sound design and audio engineering by Sam Torres.
Dilenia Rodriguez is associate animator.
This piece is supported by IF/Then Shorts | Field of Vision, with the guidance of consulting Producers Chloe Gbai and Caitlin Mae Burke.
It was work-shopped in the 2020 DCTV Docu Work-in-Progress Shorts Lab and conceptualized at Arts, Letters and Numbers.
Interested in seeing this film?
We are organizing independent screenings around the country, world and online. If you would like to bring this film to your organization and community, please reach out to Eloise or Lauryn.
Dedication
The Body is a House of Familiar Rooms is dedicated to Susanna Heller.
2021
