Funeral Service Times August 2017 June 2019 | Page 8

8
DISPATCHES
Death-focused
documentary to show at
UK cinemas
Benn Abdy-Collins
Interview with Jane Morrell
I have had the honour to interview remarkable independent
funeral directors, recognised for the difference they make in
the industry. My first interviewee is Jane Morrell, who with
her husband Simon Smith are unique in their broad roles as
FDs, funeral celebrants and educators. The pair also trains
FDs, funeral celebrants, and arrangers.
So why did the pair start Green Fuse / Heart & Soul
Funerals? Morrell explained that her own traumatic loss of a
parent at the age of eight, and how that was handled, made
her driven to make a difference: “Green Fuse is to make
sure no children, nobody, goes through that experience, the
driving force is that nobody has to be silenced.
“I realised that funerals are often not done very well, they
are prescriptive and procedural we choose to give more
attention to the people, the grieving, the needs and the
details.”
It’s clear that Morrell’s experience of death and
bereavement changed her, and Heart & Soul funerals was
the result, designed around people – the families, the
service, the staff and the students, “we wanted to make
things possible (during the impossible time of facing death,
and dealing with it)”
Morrell adds: “Grieving is a left over from the medical
profession where everything is cut and dried and expressed
without joy and frequently perpetuated by any FD who
works in a cut and dried fashion which only compounds the
experience.”
The FD says her company expresses “heart and soul as love
and spirit” before adding that Green Fuse encourages people
to deal with death and funerals with values, understanding
and compassion. “The period after a death, is very strange,
it’s a time when plunged into grief, when families realise how
much they loved the person before death” Morrell explans.
Morrell says she expresses love in her work through “deep
listening” because “different people have a different take on
a funeral and, even if you can’t fulfil all of their requests, by
just listening to them, being heard is an enormous relief,
people really love being listened to”. She says she always
starts by asking would you like to tell me about him/her?
According to Morrell this allows for a stream of thoughts
and memories, and deepens the relationship with the family.
To develop listening, Morrell recommends being open
with families, starting with blank sheets of paper, and no
prescribed formula.
One of the unique parts of Morrell’s service is her funeral
pets, “they carry empathy that instantly causes reactions
within people who receive unconditional love, the dogs are
naturally very good with people” she says.
JUNE 2019
Dead Good will be released on 10 May and will follow three
groups of people as they deal with the death of a loved one
Dead Good, the first full length feature by director Rehana
Rose, will be released in cinemas on 10 May and follow the
lives of three groups of people as they deal with the death of
a loved one.
Described as “an intimate portrait of those dealing with
death in modern Britain”, the document the process from
death through to the funeral ceremony itself.
The film has been supported by some luminaries from the
acting world including Dame Emma Thompson who was so
affected by the film that she recorded a prologue to the trailer
urging people to see it.
She said: “This is an unbelievably timely and important film.
It is beautifully crafted, so comforting as well as moving and
gives the wisdom forth so simply and compellingly. Everyone
should see this.”
The film’s director Rose, who between 2012 and 2015 lost
three people very close to her, created the film when she
“realised how little we know about our rights and choices
around death, mourning and celebrating life”.
Rose’s first experience of filmmaking was on a
documentary about punk rockers in the 80s called Rough Cut
and Ready Dubbed which went on to win the Grierson award.
After a successful career in corporate live events directing
large format video and animation, 15 years ago she returned
to her interest in filmmaking and made several independent
short films
She said: “In short succession, I was involved with three
very different funerals and realised how little we know
about our rights and choices around death, mourning and
celebrating the life of a loved one. One of those funerals of a
dear young friend of mine, was supported by Cara and her
team, which was radically different from the other two and
which I experienced as much more positive. All of my varied
experiences and the questions they raised for me were the
motivation for this documentary.”
“This film is timely because the funeral ‘industry’ is on the
brink of disruptive change. Many baby boomers are dealing
with the deaths of their parents and within their peer groups.
Younger generations are becoming more questioning, seeking
alternative ways of being and doing and rejecting corporate
solutions. Funeral poverty is a growing concern, and
scaremongering about funeral plans and soaring funeral costs
continue to make headlines.”
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