Shirley

Shirley, written and directed by Mariah Dunn Kramer, is a short proof-of-concept narrative set in the early 1960s. The drama is told from the perspective of a 36-year-old woman dying of kidney failure as she prepares to leave her husband and six young children behind.

​

Set on the morning of Shirley's death, which happens to be Christmas morning, the film centers around Shirley as she lays in bed listening to her children open gifts too ill to join them.

After a visit from her youngest child, an energetic 2-year-old, Shirley shows hope for her future as she imagines her daughter as a grown woman with a child of her own. Moments later Shirley's husband Glenn comes into the room to check on her. Glenn assures her again that he is filming everything. It is clear he has yet to accept what is happening - he will soon lose his wife. Shirley reminisces about the beginning of their relationship as we see black and white 8mm footage of her at a much younger age. She is smiling shyly at the camera which we can only assume Glenn is holding. Understanding her fate, Shirley is determined to leave her family with something to comfort them after she is gone. She begins to pen a letter. We eventually join the children in the living room. It is much later in the day and the children are playing with their new toys. Glenn emerges from the hallway carrying Shirley who is too weak to lift her head. He carries her out the back door and into the car. The children are left to sit and wait as they wonder when their mother will be coming back home.

-Synopsis Written by Mariah Dunn Kramer