The latest Made Here series premiere features Massachusetts director Tim O’Donnell’s film The House We Lived In, chronicling his father's journey to recover lost memories following a traumatic brain injury. They visit their family home in New Hampshire together as the family struggles with acceptance of this new version of their father.
Filmmaker Tim O’Donnell answered questions about the film via email with Vermont Public's Eric Ford. This interview has been lightly copy edited.
Eric Ford: How did you decide to make a film about and with your father?
Tim O'Donnell: My dad suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for eight days. I decided to pull my iPhone out and start filming him. It was a way of dealing with the moment — part escapism and part trying to make sense of what was happening. The camera has always been a way for me to understand the world.
I didn’t intend to make a film about my dad, but when he woke up and could only communicate with his eyes, I kept filming. And 30 days later when he began to slowly move and learn how to eat again I kept filming. And 70 days later when he learned how to walk again and was released from the hospital I kept filming. This turned into 12 years. My dad is an amazing human — and I’m so excited that others get to know his story.
Eric Ford: What was the process like, and how did your family feel about it?
Tim O'Donnell: My dad was the family cameraman. He would film sporting events and everyday life at the home growing up. So in some ways I just continued the tradition.
My parents and three siblings are so incredibly supportive and they welcomed the process. There were certainly tough moments talking about my dad’s gambling addiction and financial difficulties — but I think everyone knew how important it was to open up about these issues for others.
Eric Ford: The film has a very unique visual style. Can you talk about the use of projections and archival footage?
Tim O'Donnell: Eight years into the film, my dad was still struggling with remembering the house we lived in — a place where my siblings and I grew up — a house filled with 20-plus years of memories.
We designed a temporary installation at my brother’s wrestling gym with multiple projections of old family tapes and abstract imagery I shot. We repeated this process in a few locations. We invited my dad into the space to interact with the visuals and filmed that process as well. It was truly a cathartic experience. I was also struggling with my own mental health and that process might be the moment I began to accept what was going on and seek therapy. I don’t know exactly — but it was an important moment.
I’ll never forget being with my dad for hours in those spaces. We were quiet mostly just watching these overlapping memories and visuals. I love that filmmaking offers these experiences outside of what the final product is. Most folks who watch the film have their own interpretation of what these sequences mean and represent. I love that.
Eric Ford: What have audiences told you after seeing the film?
Tim O'Donnell: We’ve had a lot of amazing reactions to the film. My dad did a tour of over 50 screenings with general audiences and folks impacted by brain injury. We’ve had a lot of people tell us how much our family story has impacted them. The film can be humorous at times, emotional, thrilling and works almost as a horror film.
There's been a few zoom screenings to me that stuck out. I’ll never forget one we did with UCLA where one student stayed late and asked to talk and we continued the zoom one hour later after the Q&A was over. She had just suffered a traumatic brain injury and hadn’t talked to a lot of people about it. She was incredibly brave and honest with us. I think it’s something that's really challenging in the public eye — as sometimes the injury seems invisible.
When my dad was in a coma me and my family watched Life. Support. Music — a doc about someone recovering from a TBI. That was a huge moment for our family. It gave us hope. We hope to do the same with our film.
Eric Ford: What are you working on now or what's next for you?
Tim O'Donnell: We run a production company called Pixela Films and have a lot of fun and exciting commercial work going on right now. I love the balance of long-term filmmaking and short term. As well as commercial and independent — it’s great to go back and forth and learn things from each practice. We’ve got our eighth feature length documentary film finishing up this year about Mary Dague — a double arm amputee that's a gamer (plays with her feet) and writing a sci-fi novel about her journey. We’re animating the novel and weaving that into the film. It’s been a really fun creative project and we’re excited to share it soon!
The House We Lived In premieres on Vermont Public's PBS station at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 13th, and is available now on demand.
