I’m in Madison today for the world premiere of Expiration Dates, a short documentary created by my excellent brother Wesley Morgan. The film stars our grandparents Norval and Barbara Morgan (who we call Nana & Bumpa). The description: “Norval Morgan has a uniquely morbid hobby: he collects obituaries. This intimate and humorous portrait doc also touches on some universal issues like mortality and the legacies we leave behind.”
It is an incredible film, and not just for our own family — it was selected for the 2023 Wisconsin Film Festival. It was screened in a theater on the UW Madison campus today, alongside four other short documentaries for the “Real People/Real Places” showing. We filled over a dozen seats with our family and friends, including Nana and Bumpa who got to witness their big screen debut. But it wasn’t just us who loved them and their story — the whole theater reacted wonderfully to the film. It was definitely the one with the most laughs! I can trace how the morbid sense of humor got passed down in our family . . .
I couldn’t be prouder of my brother — the documentary is beautiful from all angles (from the technical side of making a great film to the heart of telling a great story). And it was a joy to see Nana and Bumpa lit up at their stardom and their well-deserved appreciation from the audience.
Hopefully, the film will be more widely available for people to view soon! In the meantime, you can check out a sneak preview and short interview with Wes on Director’s Cut (from PBS Wisconsin) — head to ~37:45 at the link for his segment.
All in all, more than worth the weekend trip.
With Love,
Natalie