A new Wisconsin-made film called Winter Hymns is set over the course of a day in a single hospital room. The room is where Dr. Linda Vobernik, a palliative care doctor, meets with her dying patients and their families as they navigate end of life care. She's fighting for compassion in a system built for efficiency and other priorities, all while guiding people through “care that doesn't cure.”
The film is written and directed by Wisconsin native Nathan Deming, who's own father was a palliative care provider in Eau Claire. "At first, I [didn't] want to know anything more about it. It's really tough what people in that office are going through. But I found through my dad what a lot of palliative care and hospice workers say about their job, which is they actually love it because you get to help people at their lowest moments," he says. "And then as a filmmaker... I'm really interested in kind of capturing Wisconsin on screen in general, and then I just thought, man, what an interesting place to set a movie."
Deming wrote the film seven years ago, and while it came off of the shelf a couple of times he recently made more connections with Wisconsin filmmakers. This film then became a chance to truly showcase local talent both on and off the screen. The film's lead Dr. Vobernik is played by American Players Theater (APT) Core Company Member Colleen Madden, who was the only person for the role according to Deming.
"I [was not] gonna make it without Colleen Madden," he states. "I grew up watching her, I love her... Colleen has such an amazing presence that I think was really important ... a lot of what she's doing, she's not even always talking or even emoting but she has to be this perfect sounding board for what these characters are going through."
In addition to Madden, the film's cast also includes former APT member Sarah Day, Flora Coker of Theater X in Milwaukee, as well as people who made their acting debut — including a poet and a dairy farmer. Characters range from a farmer who refuses to accept his failing body, an English teacher clinging to her students’ futures, a young electrical line worker with stomach cancer, and many others.
"I wanted to showcase Wisconsin acting talent and I was gonna make this movie no matter what, but I was blown away by the types of people here," notes Deming.
He says that from the beginning of the writing process, Deming wanted to make an emotional epic set in one room to really make an audience pay close attention to what remains on screen. Winter Hymns was shot over two weeks in Menomonie, Wis. where they transformed a vacant medical office into a palliative care room. "One room sounds like a limitation but it actually became really thrilling," he explains. "Even though it's a grim topic, I think what people have been responding to about it is, you're not alone. We all go through this. We all carry grief."
"[The film] is just clearly resonating. Hopefully it’s what I’ve done, hopefully it’s clearly what the actors have done, but also it’s just the topic," Deming adds. "This movie really tries to be a naked look at death, mortality, the hospital system, all these really difficult issues... One big takeaway I had from my research when I started looking into it was that it's kind of like two things that happen during this, which is families either come together or they split apart. So I guess the question is, what do you wanna be? So I'm trying to hold that in myself, too."
Winter Hymns will be making its Milwaukee premiere at the Oriental Theater this Saturday, June 20 at 3 pm. Deming will be in attendance along with some of the cast members for a Q&A following the screening.
