Funny Death Ad for Before I Die New Mexico Festival

Nov 2, 2019 | 0 comments

Festival coordinator Gail Rubin with ABQ Death Cafe mascot Lola and Before I Die walls.

Tomorrow, November 3, 2019, is the start of the third annual Before I Die New Mexico Festival. We created a funny online video to help spread the word about it. Events are taking place in Albuquerque, Taos, Espanola, and Santa Fe.

Look for my Death Cafe mascot Lola in the pine casket built by Fathers Building Futures at all Festival locations!

Here’s a quick overview of events:

  • Sunday, Nov. 3: Dia de los Muertos celebration in Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque and a Death Cafe in Taos.
  • Monday, Nov. 4: Events at DeVargas Funeral Home in Taos.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 5: Events at DeVargas Funeral Home in Espanola.
  • Wednesday, Nov. 6: Events at Berardinelli McGee Life Event Center in Santa Fe.
  • Thursday, Nov. 7: Events at Daniels Strong Thorne Mortuary in Albuquerque and Millennial Morticians with ABQ Brews at Tractor Brewing Wells Park location.
  • Friday, Nov. 8: Events at Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.
  • Saturday, Nov. 9: Before I Die Symposium, Mortuary Mall and speakers at Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque, a documentary screening of SOLACE: Wisdom of the Dying at The Guild Cinema.
  • Sunday, Nov. 10: Jewish Burial is Green Burial at the JCC and a screening of THE PRINCESS BRIDE at The Guild Cinema.

There are two versions of this video available: one is 60 seconds in length, the other is 1:44. Which do you like better? Comment and feel free to share!

The 60-second version:

2019 Before I Die NM Festival Funny Ad

The 1:44 version with more dialogue:

Before I Die New Mexico Festival

Thank you to our 2019 Festival sponsors:

• A Good Goodbye – Pioneering death educator Gail Rubin puts the “fun” in funeral planning. www.AGoodGoodbye.com
• Daniels Family Funerals & Cremations; DeVargas Funeral Home & Crematory; Fairview Memorial Park; and Gabaldon Mortuary;
• FRENCH Funerals and Cremations and Sunset Memorial Park – www.FrenchFunerals.com;
• Morris Hall PLLC – an estate planning law firm – www.MorrisTrust.com;
• MyFinalChecklist.com – the end-of-life planning system you need to finally get it together for those you will leave behind;
• The Green Burial Council – a nonprofit organization that inspires and advocates for environmentally sustainable, natural death care. www.GreenBurialCouncil.org
• Passages International – providers of eco-friendly funeral and cremation products. www.PassagesInternational.com
• Everdays – an app that connects you with the people that matter most during life’s important moments. www.Everdays.com

Video Credits:

  • Rajeev Nirmalakhandan – Writer/director/editor
  • Santiago Sosa – Location manager / props
  • Alejandro Horcacitas – Cinematography
  • Laura Murden – Assistant director
  • Jack Lutz – Dead Guy
  • Tim Maloney – Healthy Guy
  • Gail Rubin – Waitress
  • Woody Woodstra – Guy Who Keels Over
  • Marianne Bjelke – Woman at Counter
  • Recorded at the Route 66 Diner, 1405 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM
A Good Goodbye