'Good-bye to a House' documentary film

Hi residents of Harrisville, Nelson, and the Monadnock region--plus those further afield in New Hampshire and New England--who are interested in history, historic preservation, and land conservation:

Film and Funding Status

High Cairn Films in Chesterfield, NH is seeking donations of any amount to help support completion and local screenings of Good-bye to a House, a documentary short based on Jodi Farwell’s essay about the Seaver Farm, which appeared in Harrisville's Common Threads Dec/Jan 2021 to much interest. The film adaptation will be completed late spring/early summer 2024 and local screenings will be scheduled in late summer/fall 2024.

Extensive filming and research starting in spring 2021 has been self-funded. With a push in 2023 to fund post-production and initial local screenings, the project successfully raised $15,000 in individual donations by the end of the year, which leveraged a challenge grant of $5,000 from the Putnam Foundation. Thanks much to all who donated!!

We are now busily engaged in post-production (editing, animation/graphics, original musical score, color correction, audio mixing/mastering, etc.) with the goal of completion in late summer followed by initial local screenings in the fall. For some post-production activities as well as screening and distribution (film poster & DVD graphics, regional screenings, festival outreach, and New England public TV pitching, etc.) more funds are needed to cover costs.

Please consider contributing to the film, which celebrates not only Harrisville history but all in the habit of caretaking special places and remembering those who came before us.

For more info about the film (highcairnfilms.com/goodbye-to-a-house)

To see a film trailer (https://vimeo.com/749676074)

Film Description

Good-bye to a House is a documentary short that tells the story of a rural New England farmhouse, the current of history, and change. Based on the words of Jodi Farwell - a mother, farmer, former school teacher, and writer -- who was a one-time occupant of the Seaver Farm in Harrisville, NH -- the film paints an intimate and indelible portrait of the “old ways”, colorful individuality, and community spiritedness, all while creating a vivid sense of place. Through the account of one ordinary farmhouse, recently torn down, the film is both a dreamlike evocation of a bygone rural life, and a sympathetic eulogy of those who’ve come before us, their hard-living and sacrifice, accomplishments and dignity, and the forgotten beauty of ordinary lives. A personal inquiry into history, the film touches on the themes of “remembering, honoring, and conserving”.

Film Audience

The film’s audience includes the residents of Harrisville, Nelson, and nearby towns in the Monadnock region, plus interested town, state, and regional historical societies throughout New England. Potential local screening hosts include Historic Harrisville, Nelson In Common, the Harris Center, and the Cheshire County Historical Society. The film will also be submitted to regional film festivals and pitched to NHPBS, VT Public, and Maine Public.

 

For more information about the film, filmmaker, project status, audience, and fundraising, and to see a trailer, follow this link to the Good-bye to a House web page.

 

I’m hoping that you can contribute to the completion, local screening, and wider distribution and viewing of this film. Donations in any amount would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for your interest in the project - See you at a screening!!

cheers, Chris

 

Chris Hardee

Founder & Filmmaker

High Cairn Films

West Chesterfield, NH