Description
48 Minutes long
– An excellent hope-filled resource to support personal grief, healing and self-care.
– NOTE: This is the Personal Edition. The definition of Personal Use excludes group screenings of all kinds. All rights reserved by the filmmaker.
– This is a digital download. A link will be sent to you by email to download the movie to your computer. If you require a hard copy DVD, please find the DVD product on the Alexis Marie Chute Shop or contact tech support at [email protected] for assistance.
MORE ABOUT THE FILM:
Expecting Sunshine Documentary brings to life the award-winning, bestselling memoir by author/filmmaker Alexis Marie Chute, called Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss. The film welcomes viewers into an intimate experience of an actual subsequent pregnancy of the filmmaker following the death of her newborn son, Zachary, at birth from a cardiac tumor. The documentary brings viewers along on real-life medical appointments, introduces them to other bereaved parents and medical professionals through thought-provoking interviews, right through to the delivery room where Chute welcomes her “rainbow baby,” the name given by bereaved parents to their child(ren) born after their loss.
The film is not a sterile or sentimental expose, but is instead a collaborative and culturally relevant work of art. The filmmaker exposes unseen emotional and psychological challenges, curating them into an artistic presentation that lives on in the minds of viewers long after. With poignant narration about the grief and healing journey, the documentary casts fresh light on a private and isolating experience, bringing hope and support.
Filmmaker Alexis Marie Chute is a bestselling, multi-award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, and public speaker.
FILM AWARDS for EXPECTING SUNSHINE DOCUMENTARY:
- Audience Choice Best Film 2018, Central Alberta Film Festival
- Shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature, Central Alberta Film Festival
- Semi-Finalist, International New York Film Festival
- Semi-Finalist, Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards
- Finalist, US Hollywood International Golden Film Award
- Finalist, International Women’s Film Festival
FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS TO DATE:
- Amsterdam International Filmmakers Festival, The Netherlands
- Central Alberta Film Festival, Red Deer, Alberta, CAN
- Arizona International Film Festival, Tucson, AZ, USA
- PLIDA International Perinatal Bereavement Conference, St. Louis, MO, USA
- International Conference on Stillbirth, SIDS and Infant Survival, Glasgow, UK
- Platform Film Festival, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Alexis Marie Chute –
“I’m watching your trailers and bawling my head off, I’m so overcome with emotion. I appreciate your candidness and the words you say resonate so much. Even though our babies aren’t with us, we still have that strong love. When you talked about feeling intense blues after Luca, I could get that. Even though I’m soon to have our rainbow baby, I’ve been shedding a lot more tears about losing our Eli and talking about him a lot more. It’s so true that they are a part of us and that part of us will never die. I’m really looking forward to your documentary and want to thank you for your honesty. I know it will make a lot of mamas feel permission to grieve and to talk about their losses.”
– Leanne Brooks
Bereaved mother to Eli
“So powerfully capturing my emotions so far on this rainbow journey. There is nothing else like this….great to see more opportunity to share our stories with the world!”
– Amanda Mayberry
“These clips were a beautiful inspiration to remind me to care and pray for those who grieve the loss of a child.”
– Colleen Lloyd Hildebrand
“It is 2016. It should no longer be taboo to talk about how babies can die and how subsequent rainbow babies can never replace the other baby. Artist, writer, and photographer Alexis Marie Chute tackles this taboo head on in the documentary Expecting Sunshine. Join her on her eye-opening and creative journey of recovery.”
– Man-Sum Yau
Writer and Veterinarian
“Everything Alexis Marie does is straight from the heart, introspective and challenging. Traveling with her through loss, grief, growth and renewed perspective on life promises to be an insightful journey. Expect sunshine and to walk away changed.”
– Donloree Hoffman
Executive Coach and author of If I Die, Please Bring Cheesecake to My Funeral
“Beautiful and moving and important.”
– Gene Luetkemeyer
MFA, author of Penitentiary Tales, A Novel
“Documentaries often have this need, this urge to tell something to the viewer, whether it was a critique of some situation in a faraway land, during a distant period in time or merely an explanation of economical phenomenons that had a global footprint, recently. On the other hand, some documentaries are stories that captivate audiences. “Expecting sunshine”, a documentary made by Alexis Marie Chute, is exactly that. Based upon the idea of giving birth to a child after having lost a child. On first glance, this documentary might seem like one of the abundant movies that emerge from the Hollywood abyss but it is not. This movie is a work of art (and this is not a cliché, given the fact that Chute is an artist) that shows the fragility of life, the delicate aspects of a mother’s love and that reiterates the idea of “gone but never forgotten”. Despite having to talk about a topic that seems dark and despairing, the documentarist and protagonist uses a palette of positivity, warmth, when talking about her “still born” son.”
– Alex Micati
Blogger
“…touching and moving…well captured!”
– ChanPeew Wan
“What a moving, emotional and uplifting video. Tears are prickling my eyes watching.”
– Wendy Reynolds
“Expecting Sunshine touched my heart. I never met the child my Husband and I lost 15 years ago. My husband and I never gave that child a name. I feel as though we never properly grieved the loss of our first child. Though in some ways I feel as though I never stopped grieving the child who I never had the chance to meet. Expecting Sunshine taught me that losing a child at any point during pregnancy, birth or even years later, that I am a mother to ALL my children. I care and dedicate my life and soul to nurturing, loving and protecting my children, earth bound holding my hand or smiling upwards and never forgetting the child I remember as my angel. Thank you Alexis Marie Chute for bringing Expecting Sunshine to life. Your film has brought me peace, comfort, permission to grieve, but most importantly knowledge in knowing how to celebrate the life of my child that I never met. Thank-you!”
– Erika Breen
Artist and Educator
“Beautiful video. So well done, my tears fall together with the mum.”
– Lianlian Loh Gliptis
“Where there is Love, Life never dies. Very good trailer. Second video is touching, connection will forever be with Zachary.”
– Winnie Lefort Bess
“The documentary Expecting Sunshine is an emotional and honest film that captures families working on overcoming the pain of loss and expressing the never ending love that they have for their child.”
– Jessica Pagee
“The first film of its kind that tackles the honest emotions of grief, fear and hope the mom expecting again after a loss experiences during her next pregnancy. We need more films like this that raise awareness about the struggles of pregnancy and parenting after loss.”
– Lindsey Henke
Pregnancy After Loss Support
“So touching and moving. Well done!”
– Khimsim Tan