Local Atlanta documentarian Sarah Sanchez Kelley first stepped into the world of documentary filmmaking during the politically charged 2016 presidential election. At the time, she was an undergraduate student at Emory University, where the energy of the election drew her into unscripted storytelling.
“I realized that this was a medium I was interested in,” Sanchez Kelley shared with AFPZine. While Emory’s program emphasized traditional filmmaking and documentary practices, Sanchez Kelley found herself gravitating toward experimental storytelling. “I got more weird in filmmaking,” she added with a laugh.
This creative curiosity led her to pursue an MFA in Film at Georgia State University, a thesis-driven program nestled in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. However, midway through her studies, Sanchez Kelley received devastating news from her hometown of Daytona Beach, Florida—her father had passed away.
Initially, Sanchez Kelley had planned to focus her thesis on a different topic. But the profound shift brought on by her father’s death steered her in a new direction. Grappling with grief, she felt compelled to create a film that reflected the unvarnished realities of loss.
“I just was in this grieving process where I felt as though every medium of grief is so sugar-coated and obsessively positive and optimistic and spiritual. And I just didn’t feel that way at all,” she explained.
The result was “TELL NO TALES”, an 8mm short film that became a finalist and standout contender at ATLFilmParty Cycle 1, Season 2, in the short documentary round sponsored by the Southern Documentary Fund.
Sanchez Kelley set out to challenge conventional narratives around grief, rejecting the polished sentimentality often seen in media. “I feel like this is kind of the film I needed to make, where I’m talking about this experience through the lens of someone who does not feel all those lovey-dovey, sentimental, kind of beautiful feelings that people associate with losing someone,” she said.
Shot on 8mm film, TELL NO TALES combines tactile, analog visuals with deeply personal storytelling. “I wanted the texture of the film to feel like memory,” she explained. The choice of Super 8 film, with its grainy aesthetic and nostalgic quality, underscored the film’s themes of loss and remembrance.
Throughout the production process, Sanchez Kelley confronted numerous challenges, from technical setbacks to the emotional weight of revisiting her father’s memory. Yet, these obstacles only deepened her commitment to the project.
“This wasn’t just about filmmaking—it was about survival and understanding my grief."
