In the U.S., about 60% of young adults report at least one chronic condition.

According to disability statistics, 96% of people with chronic medical conditions show no outward signs of illness. That means many suffer quietly and invisibly, which media rarely acknowledges in realistic, multifaceted ways. 

LOGLINE: After leaving Juilliard due to chronic illness, a young pianist returns home, forced to face the echoes of her past and the uncertainty of her future. 

Slipping Through My Fingers follows Anya, a gifted pianist forced to abandon Juilliard when chronic illness upends her body and spirit. Back in her seaside hometown, she struggles with lost talent, independence, and identity, while her mother Margaret wavers between denial and tenderness. Encounters with old friends—especially Rowan, for whom she harbors quiet feelings—intensify her sense of alienation, culminating in a humiliating collapse at a beach gathering. When Margaret gives their piano to a neighbor’s daughter, Elodie, Anya confronts her grief but discovers renewal. With the possibility for a new beginning, Anya rediscovers music’s beauty in sharing rather than mastery, glimpsing a future where her gift still lives on.

Slipping Through My Fingers evokes the somber, salt-worn atmosphere of Manchester by the Sea (2016), grounding the story in a quiet seaside town where grief and longing linger in every corner. Like Lady Bird (2017), it explores the fraught yet deeply tender bond between mother and daughter, and in the spirit of Aftersun (2022), it carries a lyrical melancholy that transforms ordinary gestures into something profound. Together, these influences shape a story that is an intimate meditation on loss and resilience.

The film will employ a cool color palette that emphasizes both the coastal setting and Anya’s inner melancholy. Soft, natural light and intimate close-ups will draw us into her world, while the visual language shifts between bright, airy daytime sequences and darker, more saturated night scenes. Across every setting, the camera lingers with intimacy—on hands, faces, small gestures—allowing silence and atmosphere to carry the emotional weight. The result is a visual world that feels at once grounded and ephemeral, mirroring Anya’s fragile balance between memory, illness, and the possibility of renewal.

ANYA, Lead, 23: Anya is a former Juilliard piano prodigy whose promising career was cut short by a chronic illness effecting her ability to play. Frail and withdrawn, she hides her vulnerability behind short answers and forced smiles, yet she’s deeply observant and yearning for connection. Once defined by her brilliance at the piano, Anya now struggles with grief, dependency, and her mother’s suffocating concern. Over the course of the story, she begins to rediscover purpose, learning to exist with her illness rather than against it. 

MARGARET, Lead, 50s: Margaret is a polished, PTA-mom type who runs her household with precision and pride. She keeps her home sunny, elegant, and social-ready, projecting order and success. Once her daughter’s fiercest advocate, she now masks fear and grief with control, criticism, and relentless optimism. Though she often clashes with Anya, her sharp edges hide genuine love and a desperation to help, even if she doesn’t know how. 

ROWAN, Supporting, 23: Sharp-witted and a little rough around the edges, Rowan stayed in her hometown after high school and now works at the local market. Rowan carries unspoken regrets about her drifting friendship with Anya, and beneath her bravado is someone who longs for deeper connection.

ELODIE, Supporting, 9: Bright, curious, and earnest, Elodie is a budding piano student with more enthusiasm than skill. Her openness and unfiltered honesty cut through adult silences, and her admiration for Anya sparks the fragile hope that music—and connection—can still have a place in Anya’s life.

"For the past few years, I’ve been living with a chronic illness—an experience that has reshaped not only my daily life but also how I see the world. I’ve long wanted to write about this experience, especially as I’ve seen so many young women navigate similar realities in silence. Living with a chronic condition can be exhausting, isolating, and incredibly frustrating, yet it’s something I haven’t been able to find depicted in film, often or authentically. With this project, I hope to tell a story that allows audiences to better understand what it feels like to be young and chronically ill, while also offering those who share this struggle the rare chance to feel seen and represented on screen.” 

-Grace Eitrheim (Writer & Director)

TOTAL COST: $22,000

We are looking to raise 15K of that through Seed&Spark!

Seed & Spark requires that we raise at least 80% of our goal for the project to be funded.

We must reach this goal in 60 days or we won't receive a single penny!

We will be shooting Slipping Through My Fingers between April 3-6th, 2026 in Long Island, NY.

Our plan is to be fully funded by December 2025 and have all pre-production locked by February 2026. The film will be in Post-Production from April-June 2026 and then festival ready by the end of June!

- CONTRIBUTE money to the film, every penny counts!

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From,

Grace Eitrheim