Seeping
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Mystery
16% of marriages don't survive the death of a child. Different grieving styles is consistently named as one of the main reasons. This noir short examines how grief, denial, and memory fracture a marriage — and what happens when what’s been locked away can no longer stay hidden.
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$1,448
Goal: $2,500 for production
16% of marriages don't survive the death of a child. Different grieving styles is consistently named as one of the main reasons. This noir short examines how grief, denial, and memory fracture a marriage — and what happens when what’s been locked away can no longer stay hidden.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Pierce sits in an apartment he doesn't recognise with his wife Rose who he doesn't remember, a large head wound on his forehead. Movers are coming soon to clear out a locked storage room and he and Rose have to be at her parents' house at 5.30. But things aren't adding up.
As a disoriented Pierce investigates through the apartment, he finds more and more things that don't make sense about Rose's story, leading him to make a final heartbreaking discovery...
...the room being cleared out isn't a storage room. It is the bedroom of the child they lost.
Wrestling with this revelation, Pierce must confront his own grieving style, and the isolation he imposes on himself in times of trouble. Can these two grieving parents learn to grieve together, or is such a loss too devastating for their marriage to survive?
I was first drawn to this story after reading the book ‘Faith, Hope and Carnage’ by Nick Cave, where he speaks in depth about his experience tragically losing his son. Intensely moved by this, it sent me down a research rabbit-hole where I discovered the statistic about the amount of couples who don’t survive due to grieving differently. Where one partner
isolates themself in their grief, leaving the other with no-one to support them. 
In America alone, 18.7 million people have lost children. So I wanted to make a film for them. To speak to this issue which I believe isn't addressed enough in cinema. To provide some form of comfort to those grieving alone and ask the important question of how can we learn to grieve together rather than isolating ourselves in these overwhelming emotions?
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OUR VISUAL LANGUAGE & REFERENCES
The visual language of the film draws heavily from early 20th-century figurative painters, particularly Egon Schiele, Lucien Freud, and Gustav Klimt. Rather than aiming for visual elegance, these references guide a more restrained and interior aesthetic. The images are meant to feel lived-in, slightly uneasy, and emotionally specific — allowing colour and shadow to carry memory, denial, and grief without explanation.
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Morgan O’Connell is a writer/director from Ireland currently in his senior year at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
He is interning at Cheshire Films, where he is directly assisting an Emmy-winning filmmaker on a feature documentary.
He is interested in using genre as a vehicle to explore the complexity of human emotion and relationships in his films. His short films have screened at festivals in both the US and the UK.
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This structured yet flexible timeline allows the film to remain responsive to its material while ensuring it reaches the audiences for whom it is intended.
PRIMARY AUDIENCE
Our primary audience includes adults aged 30–60 who gravitate toward character-driven dramas centered around loss and parenthood. This includes the 18.7 million people in America alone who have experienced the loss of a child. Secondary audiences include fans of independent noir cinema and short-form storytelling across film festival circuits and platforms like Omeleto, Short of the Week, and Vimeo Staff Picks.
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We’re raising $2,500 to cover the essential, unglamorous (but utterly crucial) costs of production. While we’re fortunate to already have some funding secured, this final stretch ensures we can properly feed our crew, cover transportation, and support our camera, art, and G&E departments.
Independent film is a collaborative effort, and this budget is about looking after the people who make the work possible. Every dollar goes directly on screen, and just as importantly, into keeping our team cared for, focused, and able to do their best work.
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If the campaign exceeds its initial goal, additional funding will be directed toward strengthening the film’s post-production and distribution. This includes extended time for sound design and colour grading, as well as expanded festival submissions to ensure the film reaches audiences most aligned with its subject matter.
Each stretch goal allows the film to be finished with greater care and given a longer life beyond its first release.
ETHICAL CARE BEHIND "SEEPING"
This film engages directly with themes of grief, memory loss, and the aftermath of parental trauma. Because of this, ethical care is central to how the project is made, not only in what appears on screen, but in how the process unfolds behind it. We aim to tell a truthful story about loss without exploiting it, creating work that is honest, restrained, and humane for both its audience and the people involved in making it.
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Follow us @seeping_shortfilm on Instagram for more updates
Spread the word: seedandspark.com/fund/seeping
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food
Costs $1,380
Providing proper meals keeps the set calm, focused, and humane. Good food ensures our cast and crew can work with care, energy, and clarity
Transportation
Costs $400
Transportation support allows us to move people and equipment efficiently and safely. This keeps the production contained and on schedule.
Art Department
Costs $420
The art department shapes the emotional world of the film through objects, texture, and space.
Camera + G&E
Costs $300
We have access to camera equipment through NYU. Support here allows us to secure a specific lens needed to achieve the film’s intimate look.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
The film's crew is made up of the brightest talent at NYU Tisch film school. Each person on this set is the best at what they do, a large number working professional sets as well as student sets. They are all working for free to help bring Seeping to life, meaning the production quality we will be getting will far surpass the budget we are raising. Through NYU we are also getting an industry standard camera - the ARRI Alexa Mini to shoot this film on. Every aspect of this set is being produced at the highest possible level.
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Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Pierce sits in an apartment he doesn't recognise with his wife Rose who he doesn't remember, a large head wound on his forehead. Movers are coming soon to clear out a locked storage room and he and Rose have to be at her parents' house at 5.30. But things aren't adding up.
As a disoriented Pierce investigates through the apartment, he finds more and more things that don't make sense about Rose's story, leading him to make a final heartbreaking discovery...
...the room being cleared out isn't a storage room. It is the bedroom of the child they lost.
Wrestling with this revelation, Pierce must confront his own grieving style, and the isolation he imposes on himself in times of trouble. Can these two grieving parents learn to grieve together, or is such a loss too devastating for their marriage to survive?
I was first drawn to this story after reading the book ‘Faith, Hope and Carnage’ by Nick Cave, where he speaks in depth about his experience tragically losing his son. Intensely moved by this, it sent me down a research rabbit-hole where I discovered the statistic about the amount of couples who don’t survive due to grieving differently. Where one partner
isolates themself in their grief, leaving the other with no-one to support them.
In America alone, 18.7 million people have lost children. So I wanted to make a film for them. To speak to this issue which I believe isn't addressed enough in cinema. To provide some form of comfort to those grieving alone and ask the important question of how can we learn to grieve together rather than isolating ourselves in these overwhelming emotions?
OUR VISUAL LANGUAGE & REFERENCES
The visual language of the film draws heavily from early 20th-century figurative painters, particularly Egon Schiele, Lucien Freud, and Gustav Klimt. Rather than aiming for visual elegance, these references guide a more restrained and interior aesthetic. The images are meant to feel lived-in, slightly uneasy, and emotionally specific — allowing colour and shadow to carry memory, denial, and grief without explanation.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Morgan O’Connell is a writer/director from Ireland currently in his senior year at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
He is interning at Cheshire Films, where he is directly assisting an Emmy-winning filmmaker on a feature documentary.
He is interested in using genre as a vehicle to explore the complexity of human emotion and relationships in his films. His short films have screened at festivals in both the US and the UK.
This structured yet flexible timeline allows the film to remain responsive to its material while ensuring it reaches the audiences for whom it is intended.
PRIMARY AUDIENCE
Our primary audience includes adults aged 30–60 who gravitate toward character-driven dramas centered around loss and parenthood. This includes the 18.7 million people in America alone who have experienced the loss of a child. Secondary audiences include fans of independent noir cinema and short-form storytelling across film festival circuits and platforms like Omeleto, Short of the Week, and Vimeo Staff Picks.
We’re raising $2,500 to cover the essential, unglamorous (but utterly crucial) costs of production. While we’re fortunate to already have some funding secured, this final stretch ensures we can properly feed our crew, cover transportation, and support our camera, art, and G&E departments.
Independent film is a collaborative effort, and this budget is about looking after the people who make the work possible. Every dollar goes directly on screen, and just as importantly, into keeping our team cared for, focused, and able to do their best work.
If the campaign exceeds its initial goal, additional funding will be directed toward strengthening the film’s post-production and distribution. This includes extended time for sound design and colour grading, as well as expanded festival submissions to ensure the film reaches audiences most aligned with its subject matter.
Each stretch goal allows the film to be finished with greater care and given a longer life beyond its first release.
ETHICAL CARE BEHIND "SEEPING"
This film engages directly with themes of grief, memory loss, and the aftermath of parental trauma. Because of this, ethical care is central to how the project is made, not only in what appears on screen, but in how the process unfolds behind it. We aim to tell a truthful story about loss without exploiting it, creating work that is honest, restrained, and humane for both its audience and the people involved in making it.
Follow us @seeping_shortfilm on Instagram for more updates
Spread the word: seedandspark.com/fund/seeping
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food
Costs $1,380
Providing proper meals keeps the set calm, focused, and humane. Good food ensures our cast and crew can work with care, energy, and clarity
Transportation
Costs $400
Transportation support allows us to move people and equipment efficiently and safely. This keeps the production contained and on schedule.
Art Department
Costs $420
The art department shapes the emotional world of the film through objects, texture, and space.
Camera + G&E
Costs $300
We have access to camera equipment through NYU. Support here allows us to secure a specific lens needed to achieve the film’s intimate look.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
The film's crew is made up of the brightest talent at NYU Tisch film school. Each person on this set is the best at what they do, a large number working professional sets as well as student sets. They are all working for free to help bring Seeping to life, meaning the production quality we will be getting will far surpass the budget we are raising. Through NYU we are also getting an industry standard camera - the ARRI Alexa Mini to shoot this film on. Every aspect of this set is being produced at the highest possible level.