Included within the special event
Best of the Fest Awards Program
55 days
Directed by Jason Greene & Ross Taylor
Short Documentary
United States | 12 min | 2016
55 Days is a documentary film about the lasting effects of war. Set in present day Arizona where Sharri Regalado, 27, and her six-year-old daughter, Jaimie, live. The film is an inward emotional journey through the past 6 years of Sharri’s memories during which her husband, Jose, a Sargent in the U.S. Army was deployed to Iraq, their daughter was born, and only months later, Jose was killed.
Jose’s death was devastating and continues to be, even now, 6 years later, where Sharri feels ‘stuck’ — unable to heal enough to start moving forward with her life. And as Jaimie gets older, Sharri has begun realizing that it’s time for her to figure out her own identity — apart from being a mother, a wife, or now, a widow.
The film touches on the longer lasting consequences of war which take place in everyday American homes in the hearts and lives of military families. The film also hints at the future for children like Jaimie, who are growing up without a parent, as well as the challenge for single parents, like Sharri, to raise those children alone while also carrying the emotional burden of lasting grief. Sharri’s takes her grief into her own hands, deciding that she is ready to move on with her life.
Ross Taylor
Director
Ross Taylor’s professional recognitions include National Photographer of the Year, Northern Photographer of the Year, New England Photographer of the Year, Virginia Photographer of the Year and North Carolina Photographer of the Year (twice). His coverage of an Afghanistan trauma hospital garnered numerous international and national awards, and his work has also appeared on the cover of the Best of Photojournalism Magazine (twice). Taylor is a visiting professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Previously, he was a visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was the inaugural fellow in the Multimedia, Photography and Design Department at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University. Taylor’s master’s project was a series of films in the local burn unit. He is co-creator of The Image, Deconstructed: www.imagedeconstructed.com
Jason Greene
Director, Dir of Photography
Jason Greene is an award-winning cinematographer and filmmaker interested in social issues and the collaborative nature of filmmaking. He is currently a Director of Photography and Editor at Blue Chalk. He recently finished his masters degree in Photography, Multimedia and Design from the S.I. Newhouse at Syracuse University and was a Cinematographer for “Canyon Song,” with National Parks Experience, a film about two young sisters learning about their Navajo culture and history within the sacred walls of Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Additionally, he is the Multimedia Director at TakingFocus.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving back through documentary storytelling. He is passionate about the storytelling nature of cinematic visuals–striving to make those visuals lyrical and honest. He is currently based in Portland, OR.