Director’s Statement: 

Bardo is a deeply personal short film, born out of my experience after my mom died where, in accordance with Buddhist tradition, we kept her body at home for three days so loved ones could accompany her on the journey into the Great Beyond. It was a surreal seventy-two hours. I was at once deeply present, cognizant of the gravity of this specific moment, and deeply disassociated, unable to reconcile with the truth that my mom was gone for good. See, my mom had been suffering from frontotemporal dementia for years, which meant my dad and I had been in a state of anticipatory grief as we said goodbye to her at each new stage of deterioration. I’d lost my mom so many times that I had a hard time wrapping my head around her actual death. And yet, over those three days, I acutely felt my mom’s presence in ways I hadn’t in years. She quite literally began to send me rainbows, which to this day remains her preferred method of communication. I also felt a deep sense of guilt and regret. I’d spent years living far away, pursuing my dreams. I knew my mom was sick, but I never really faced what that meant. Call it cognitive dissonance, call it an inability to face reality; all I know is it was easier to stay away than face the immense horror of witnessing her go little bit little. In fact, I missed being by my mom’s side as she passed away because I stayed in LA for a career opportunity that later didn’t pan out. Clearly, this remains a regret to this day. But as I began to write Bardo, I realized it wasn’t just a sad story. There were so many moments during those three days, particularly with well-intentioned people trying to help my family, where I longed to turn to my mother and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Instead, I made a film. This is my love letter to her. The title refers to the liminal state of existence between death and rebirth. Yes, it's about my mom's journey as she continues on wherever she's going but it's also a state of existence that each character is in as well. Death is the end of one thing, which is, inevitably, the beginning of another. My mom’s death marked a rebirth in my life, where what was important came into stark clarity and I began the process of realigning my life to reflect my values. Bardo is a huge part of that. Thank you for watching.