Lessons With Martha

A meditation on memory, family, love and loss, "Lessons with Martha" explores the effects of dementia on one family. Based on the experiences of writer/director Matthew C. Johnson with his grandmother, the film merges two shared days in the lives of Martha (Gwen Hillier) and her grandson Mark (Blake Cooper Griffin and Keeler Donnelly) to find two people trying to communicate across differences of age, experience, and maturity.

Featuring stand-out performances from the entire cast, gorgeous cinematography from Devin Doyle and a haunting original score by Jerome Kurtenbach, "Lessons With Martha" has played festivals across the US and overseas, and won "Best Short Film" at the Yucca Valley Film Festival.

Festival Honors:

Yucca Valley Film Festival - Winner, Best Short Film

Miami Short Film Festival - Official Selection

Hollyshorts Film Festival - Official Selection

MKE International Short Film Festival - Official Selection

Syracuse International Film Festival - Official Selection

Waterford Film Festival - Official Selection

Rockport Film Festival - Official Selection

New Hope Film Festival - Official Selection

Long Story Shorts International Film Festival - Official Selection

Venice Short - Official Selection

St. Lawrence International Film Festival - Official Selection

Flickers International Film Festival - Semi-Finalist

Special thanks to all of our contributors on Seed & Spark for making this production possible.