Watch: With the Heart in the Grave (Short Film)
Director: Gabriel Davini
Writer: Gabriel Davini / Thomás Davini
Production Countries: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Director's Statement: Shocking news became a routine during the first weeks of the pandemic. Amidst the increasing fear of the unknown virus, one headline caught my attention: "We need to keep going". A gravedigger, dealing with an unprecedented number of burials, reminded them to keep going during the crisis. He triggered my thoughts. Everybody talked about doctors, nurses, and other roles considered the frontline of the war against COVID-19. Nobody had mentioned the gravediggers. Actually, nobody talks about gravediggers. What do I know about them? Images of dark, perverse figures from horror movies. Would that stigma be true?
Synopsis: The pandemic has the world stopping to think about the worst. Among the professions considered the front of the fight, a forgotten one. Responsible for ending someone's journey, gravediggers suffer from a lack of recognition, constant prejudice, and a physically and emotionally demanding role. In three countryside cities of São Paulo, gravediggers share their experiences and how the proximity of death made them see life differently.
With The Heart in The Grave is a documentary short film that you can only watch on Cineshort. The subject of our documentary is the gravediggers who worked during the pandemic period, amidst all those known and even unforgettable dangers. We all clearly remember those frightening days of the pandemic period. In fact, in terms of various effects, I still don't think we've been able to get over it. The successive deaths, the lockdowns we spent at home, masks, the desire to wash everything we brought from outside... We could list many more things while listing the painful memories this period left us with. We applauded every professional group for their sacrifices, especially everyone working in the healthcare field, and their efforts to the end were admirable. There's one sector that exists as if behind a veil of fog, both during the pandemic and in normal life. They're invisible, as if our dead disappear from this world the moment their souls leave their bodies and rush to the other realm. We easily forget that someone provides this service. It has become a very valuable documentary in terms of reminding us of this and making us realize the importance of their profession. I wholeheartedly congratulate the director Gabriel Davini. Another subject that caught my attention is the gravediggers' perspective on life. The power of death in giving meaning to human life has been beautifully conveyed to us. Modern urban design keeps death outside of daily life to the extent that it makes us forget it. However, I think that a person who remembers death lives a more principled and valued life in this world. I definitely and insistently recommend the documentary to all of you. Enjoy watching.
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