''Abigail'' is a 2019 American short

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed and produced by Max Hechtman and Christonikos Tsalikis. The film served as Hechtman's senior thesis for his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Film and Media at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

. It is influenced by a one-scene screenplay of the same name by writer Jason K. Allen and is inspired by a true story dealing with the subject matter of end-of-life decisions. It was first screened as part of the FIT Film and Media Program's senior show on May 17, 2019 before embarking on a film festival run that was done virtually due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It received positive reviews and won the Audience Award at the 2020

Long Island International Film Expo The Long Island International Film Expo, founded in 1997 by Nassau County Film Office Director, Debra Markowitz. The festival generally receives between 400 and 450 submissions every year In 2009, 170 films from 23 countries were screened at the ...

and the award for Best Film at the Point Lookout Film Festival.

Premise

A lonely and elderly widower struggles to come to terms with the loss of his wife and the circumstances surrounding her death. When he visits her grave, he encounters a little girl who shows him the path to healing and fills him with hope.

Cast

* Richie Allan as Elmer * Elvira Tortora as Abigail * Lauren Hart as Woman at Cemetery * Leilani Marie Vasquez as The Girl

Production

Development

Jason K. Allen's original script for the film was of just the cemetery scene. When Max Hechtman optioned the script upon discovering it through the website InkTip, documentary filmmaker

Josh Koury Josh Koury (born April 22, 1977) is an American filmmaker, best known for his documentary films ''Voyeur (film), Voyeur'', Journey to Planet X', ''Harry Potter fandom#We Are Wizards, We Are Wizards'' and ''Standing By Yourself, Standing by Yourse ...

, his professor at the time, encouraged Hechtman to expand upon it in order to fit the requirements of the senior thesis assignment. Hechtman worked closely with his mother, Meryl Hechtman, co-director Christonikos Tsalikis and script editor Miscelleana Tsalikis to make the story fit the required 15-20 minute length limit of the assignment. This involved incorporating the plot details on how Abigail dies and the use of

non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system (or a non-linear system) is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathe ...

flashbacks, using the film adaptation of ''

The Notebook ''The Notebook'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel Mc ...

'' (2004) and the opening "Married Life" sequence from the

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Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film '' Up'' (2009) as sources of inspiration. It is Hechtman's first narrative short to feature professional actors in the roles, with Elvira Tortora and child actress Leilani Marie Vasquez making their screen debuts as Abigail and The Girl respectively.

Filming

Filming took place in Merrick, NY and at All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village, NY from November 21, 2018 to April 25, 2019.

Post-production

Post-production on the film was completed in August 2019.

Release

It was first screened as part of the FIT Film and Media Program's senior show on May 17, 2019 and was a year later named a quarterfinalist in Stage 32's 5th Annual Short Film Contest. Due to the

, its first public screening took place virtually on October 6, 2020 at the 2020

, where it won the Audience Award, and was nominated for Best Short Film, Best Long Island Short Film and Best Director. This was followed by screenings at the Point Lookout Film Festival on March 31, 2021, the

Golden Door Film Festival The Golden Door Film Festival is a film festival in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, which was inaugurated in 2011. The four-day festival shows features, documentaries, and shorts. The opening and closing night awards ceremony are locate ...

on April 24, 2021, the Long Beach International Film Festival on July 27, 2021 and the

Portland Film Festival Portland Film Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts events and programs in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 2013 by Joshua Leake with the help of Jay Cornelius. Their main event called the Portland Film Festival is an annual indep ...

on October 6, 2021. The film was made available to watch online for free for a limited time through ''Indie Short Mag''s monthly "Short of the Month" online contest platform from March 1–31, 2025.

Reception

Jenna Reilly of ''Take 2 Indie Review'' gave the film 4 stars and wrote that it "not only explores the emotional toll of grieving a loved one – it also gives the viewer a powerful message of ''hope''. If we are open to receiving the signs that surround us – we realize that our loved ones are always with us and that love – ''never'' dies." ''Indie Shorts Mag'' gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5, calling it "a view into the swirling, disorienting mass of grief that has woven itself into the life of an aged man without his wife," and noted the influence of

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, Ge ...

's '' Amour'' (2012) and the films of Mike Flanagan on the film's slightly-desaturated visual style and use of symbolism.

Accolades

References

External links

Official Site
*
''Abigail''
a
Max Hechtman's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abigail 2019 films 2019 short films 2019 drama films 2019 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American drama short films American films based on actual events American independent films American nonlinear narrative films American student films Drama films based on actual events English-language drama short films English-language independent films Films about depression Films about death Films about suicide Films based on actual events Films directed by Max Hechtman Films produced by Max Hechtman Films with screenplays by Max Hechtman Films set in cemeteries Films shot in New York (state) Long Island International Film Expo award–winning films Thesis films