sometimes i shakE
a life-affirming tale of love & death
Music professor Dan Nelson successfully navigates his life and profession around an ever-increasing shake caused by his Parkinson’s disease. Suddenly, he is devastated by the additional, and terminal, diagnosis of ALS. We journey through Dan’s final days as he decides if he will marry the woman he loves, when to end his career in music, and how to invest the remaining months of his life.
In an inspirational tale full of vigor, humor, and raw honesty, this archival documentary follows Dan’s wild pilgrimage toward death, and along the way, discovering how to fully live.
Director’s Statement
"It started with a DVX video camera in 2005.
Dan Nelson and I met when we were both heartbroken. Despite him being 30 years older than me, we quickly became friends. Eventually, he became my mentor. I was drawn to Dan's witty sense of humor and no-bullshit honesty. He was a jazz conductor. He also had an ever-increasing shake due to early onset Parkinson's. As a filmmaker, the irony was not lost on me. I started filming a documentary about him.
Several months into filming, Dan's muscle degradation was accelerating. He went to the doctor and received the additional, terminal diagnosis of ALS. He was given two to five years to live. We cried together.
I asked him what he wanted to do and he said: "Well, you can film the rest of my life."
This is SOMETIMES I SHAKE – a film that is unflinching and existential; devastating and hilarious, many times in the same breath. Dan has since passed away, but he lives in our propensity to journey with him, to tell his story. I hope you come to this film with openness, and see the world a little differently because of the way Dan died and lived."
-Jared Callahan, director / producer