Cheery Up, Baby!
Film Screening & Ticket Information
When & Where to See this Film!
THE WORLD OF DANCE: 6 films that you can move to.
April 27, 2024 @ 3:00PM • Kaufman Astoria Studios – Zukor Theatre
View the Trailer
Synopsis
“Cheery Up, Baby!” is the story of one woman’s fight to cope with the hardest parts of life through the power of dance, gratitude, cheeriness, and the color pink!
Credits
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Director”Darla Getting Ready” (2021), “The Healing” (2020), “What’s in the Woods?” (2020)
Michael R Dominguez Beddome, Director”Darla Getting Ready” (2021), “The Healing” (2020), “The Urban Adventures of Dodger Rourke” (2013), “A Day in the Life of A Dancist American” (2012), “Hamas-ter of the House” (2011)
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Writer
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Producer
Michael R Dominguez Beddome, Producer
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Key Cast, “Fo”
Michael R Dominguez Beddome, Director of Photography
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Production Designer
Michel Dominguez Beddome, HMU & Wardrobe
Michel Dominguez Beddome, Editor
Andy Roninson, Composer
Daniel Farmer, Colorist
Michael Bergman, Re-Recording Mixer
Director Statement
Whenever times were tough, my dad used to say, “Cheery up, baby!”
I wrote this piece originally in May 2020. I had just finished my first short which was a horror film. It was a grim time here, and all over the world. I was in New York with my husband and I didn’t know if I would ever see the people I loved again. I was missing my family, my home in Florida, Mexico, everything and everyone so much. I was also a nanny at the time and missing my little H. So I wrote this script to bring some lightness back into my world.
The original title for this piece was “The Dancing Day”… It turned out that one day, one month, one season, turned into many. The days stretched on and turned into something no one could have imagined. The pandemic was real and so many people were getting sick, so many lives were being lost.
In January of 2021, I lost my uncle, my grandmother, and my dad to Covid within the span of a week. It was, and may forever be, the darkest period of my life. There were days where I questioned if I could not only ever be happy again, but ever even be myself again. I did not think I was going to make it.
When we filmed, a year from writing and after the loss of three of the most important people in my life, I was in a different state of mind. As tenebrous as my mind was, I wanted to stay as true to the original script as possible, because that’s who they were—my grandmother, my uncle, and my dad. They were lightness, and love, happiness and joy. They were three of the best people I ever knew and they had such a zeal for living. I wanted to honor them and for them to know that they will always live on in me.
There’s a saying that my family in Mexico says to each other— “Échale Ganas.” There’s no exact translation in English. The closest analogue might be something like “give it your best shot,” or “keep your chin up.” Yet, somehow even those phrases don’t feel strong enough.
For me, this movie feels like “échale ganas.” It feels like get out there and seize the day, smell the roses. It feels like even if you’re down, even if you’ve been knocked out, get back up and keep going, because you can, it feels like overcoming and resilience, it feels like my family, and who they raised me to be. It feels like them, like mi tio and mi abuelita. It feels like my dad. It feels like “Cheery Up, Baby!”
Director Biography
Michel Dominguez Beddome:
Michel Dominguez Beddome made her directorial debut as a Mexican-American Female Filmmaker with the award-winning horror short film “What’s in the Woods?” in 2020, showcasing at a variety of film festivals such as Indie Memphis, Queens World, Coney Island, Lady Filmmakers, and many amazing others. The Texas born, Florida raised, NYU Tisch grad, and current New York City dweller grew up in the loving home of two Mexican parents who continually support her obsession with the arts and storytelling. ¡Viva Mexico!
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Michael Dominguez Beddome:
After graduating from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU with a BFA in Film & Television Production, Michael Dominguez Beddome got his start in the biz as an assistant producer to Israeli Ophir Winner Tzipi Trope on her film “Cafe Europa”. He co-founded a NY based production company called AireBedd Productions in 2011, and has worked on dozens of short films and TV shows, including TruTV’s smash hit, “Impractical Jokers,” and ABC’s “What Would You Do?” He published his first book, “La Cucaracha & Other Tales of Apocalyptic Revelry,” on April Fools’ Day in 2017.
