4000 Days: TJ and Kim Burch Honor Their Son w/ New Tribeca Doc
4000 Days contains some of the most thoughtful storytelling around hazing that you will see in a documentary. And, The Mary Sue talked to Kim and TJ Burch before the movie hits Tribeca.
The Burch family had a relationship with director Daniel Catullo before 4000 Days was even put together. Going through their ordeal with their son, Nolan Burch has motivated them to raise awareness for these kinds of tragedies all across the United States.
In our interview they mentioned, “We actually did a documentary with Dan prior to this. So he actually got the ball rolling with West Virginia and got us down there. Starting that whole process, which we wanted to do right from the get go. But, we had to wait until some legal things panned out.”
Breathe Nolan Breathe is a 2019 documentary that tells Burch’s story and was powerful. It won an Emmy Award for the Ohio Valley Region. The full thing is on YouTube and I encourage people interested to seek it out.
“ With breathe Nolan breathe, he proved that he did an amazing job with that. Just to know that he wanted us to be involved with this other project was a ‘no brainer,’” the Burch family explained. “ I think he is maybe even more passionate than we are, as far as wanting to save lives. He’s just been an amazing force in working with him.
Nolan’s Story Lives On in 4000 Days
The Birches know that these kinds of stories have a way of being swept under the rug by organizations and the natural passage of time. But by telling both their story and these other family stories, they hope to prevent similar tragedies from taking place at different colleges across the country.
“I think he knows what we’re thinking. or How we’re feeling. And, he’s family to us. I think he wants to get the stories out there too,” Burch said. “For the families’ stories, and the boys’ stories. And, he does it in a way that it really honors the children. It honors our sons. But, He shows it in the right way”
New legislation is coming on board all the time to help prevent hazing, alcohol overdoses, and other dangers that can find students on campuses. With the tools available, the path forward remains through education and action among student bodies.
“The end result is, ‘Hey look, this is what happened to these families. It should never happen again.’ And for this legislation to take so long to go through is kind of ridiculous. Now, it’s finally here. What are we going to do with it?”
“So, we just love Dan and we love the way he is able to portray that. So we are honored that he continues to ask to use Nolan as part of his story. Nolan lives on through that and to Kim’s point we know it’s gonna save lives.”
(featured image: 10 Lives Studios)
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