Teddy, Out of Tune
Documentary
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Documentary, Independent, 01-May-2026
A nomadic musician embarks on a road trip up the pacific coast to spread his mother’s ashes. Daniel Freeman directs “Teddy, Out of Tune,” a docu-fictional portrait—part road movie, part meditation on grief—brought to life with vivid detours and musical bursts. Teddy doesn’t have (or need) much aside from his pick-up truck and the piano strapped in the back. Often without a shirt, there’s much more than meets the eye to this modern drifter. He’s trekking northward, passing through the forests, mountains, and deserts of the American West, an ever-changing backdrop of biomes. We observe an animated afternoon between Teddy and another eccentric musician, Gabby, and an overnight with a close friend, Erin. The time spent grows increasingly revealing as he gets close to his final destination in Canada. Though it may seem to register as a documentary (and does draw from the real lives of some of its characters), Teddy is a fictional being, brought to life in a feat of a performance by Drew Connick. Freeman carefully crafts a poetic character study, a free roaming journey filled with tenderness and emotion. -JM. Director, DP, Editor, Composer: Daniel Freeman. Cast: Drew Connick, Erin Manker, and Peter Hawks Cameron.
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