Awards

2022 Austin Film Festival - Audience Award - Feature Documentary

2022 Lone Star Film Festival - Best Documentary

2022 Toronto Documentary Film Festival - Best Feature Film

2022 London Independent Film Awards - Best Documentary

2023 Atlanta Docufest - Best Biographical Documentary

2023 Burbank International Film Festical - Best Feature Documentary

A documentary about an eccentric mortician grappling with his legacy while making life a little stranger than death in Galveston, Texas.

In the coastal town of Galveston, Texas, Dale Carter lives as a mortician in his Victorian home with his protege and friend. Over the course of a decade, this observational documentary chronicles his daily life with friends, family and strangers alike, as he navigates the mortuary profession and his attempts to realize his dream of renovating a historic home in Beaumont, Texas. Song of the Cicada explores the philosophies and motives behind the macabre obsessions that define this eccentric mortician.

The Trailer

First-cousins, Robert and Aaron Weiss spent the last ten years creating a feature-length documentary about Dale Carter, an eccentric mortician living in Galveston, TX.

They first met Dale on a fateful Halloween night in 2010, instantly taken by his flamboyant style and compelling accounts of his work as a mortician. He ended up taking us on a tour through the funeral home, keeping us entertained in his hilariously bizarre way. We knew we had to start filming with him immediately.

Flash forward to 2021: after a decade of following Dale around and over 150 hours of footage,. The film is currently touring on the 2022-2023 festival circuit.

Dale is a career mortician who finds refuge in his work from an unkind world, and maintains levity with humor and his signature southern charm and hospitality.

In our society, we rarely hear the perspective of morticians and those closely associated with death. There’s a taboo around what happens “behind the formaldehyde curtain”. Robert and Aaron initially thought the film would be about Dale only within the context of his work, because he seemed so comfortable in front of the camera while working in his embalming laboratory. But as they became closer, Dale opened up to us in unexpected ways.

Viewers are drawn to the seemingly forbidden and macabre world that Dale inhabits, but any darkness in the film is eclipsed by Dale’s unique combination of empathy, eccentricity and wisdom.

The Team

  • Aaron Weiss

    Co-Director

    Aaron Weiss is the founder and owner of One Story Productions, an independent documentary production company creating customized videos used for marketing, websites, social media, community awareness and fundraising. Aaron’s career is dedicated to telling a wide variety of stories through his work.

    He is a graduate of The New School University in New York City, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies. Aaron demonstrates to organizations the value of telling stories through film-stories that create awareness, innovation, and change. He has created compelling videos for more than 100 organizations around the world and is dedicated to making a difference through his storytelling abilities with his passion for helping those who are disadvantaged and underrepresented.

  • Robert Weiss

    Co-Director

    Robert Weiss, a Galveston native, attended Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas before studying Painting and Printmaking at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
    Together with his students at Ball High School, he created the documentary "Ike: A Documentary The Story of A Torn City Rebuilt by Everyday Heroes," highlighting the devastating impact of Hurricane Ike on Galveston and the community's resilience. His outstanding work on the documentary earned him the Lifetime Achievement and Teacher of the Year Awards from the Galveston Independent School District.
    Robert pursued his MFA at Syracuse University, specializing in painting and drawing under Jerome Witkin. He served as an Associate Professor of drawing for two years before transitioning to teach film and studio art at The Hockaday School of Dallas.
    Alongside his teaching practice, he continues to produce films, drawings and paintings in his studio in South Dallas.

  • Paul Lovelace

    Editor

    Paul Lovelace is an Austin, Texas based filmmaker who has directed, produced and edited a wide range of documentaries, including IRIS (with the late Albert Maysles released by Magnolia Pictures), AFTER SPRING (Executive Produced by Jon Stewart) documenting the Syrian refugee crisis, RADIO UNNAMEABLE (released by Kino Lorber and aired on PBS), HOT GREASE for the Discovery Channel, among many others. In 2019, Paul edited DIANA KENNEDY: NOTHING FANCY which won the audience award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and is being distributed by Greenwich Street films. Recently Paul co-produced and edited THE REVEREND, a feature length documentary about the New York musician Reverend Vince Anderson and his artistic and spiritual journey which is due to be released in 2020. Paul is currently editing a short film that looks at domestic violence.

  • Max Townsley

    Composer

    Max Townsley is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and singer from Dallas, Texas. As a session musician he’s contributed to recordings of Chris Stapleton, Joy Oladokun, and Midlake as well as Neon Indian with whom he frequently tours as guitarist and auxiliary keyboardist. He also co-wrote the song “Texas Time” by Keith Urban. ‘Song Of The Cicada’ marks his first foray into composing and producing music for film, also performing the piano, guitar, bass and organ elements of the soundtrack.

  • James Jones

    James Jones

    Sound Mix / Sound Design

    James is an audio recordist, mixer and cinematic composer who has worked in varying genres for the past seven years. His background as a musician allows him to collaborate and create.

  • Hunter and Don Davis

    Executive Producers

    Hunter is originally from Midland, Texas. After high school, and graduating from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, he moved to New York City. While in NYC, he pursued a career in Acting and attended the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute. Eventually, he found his way back to Texas and found success in the energy industry. Using the broad range of experience he picked up along the way, Hunter began exploring his creative side again when he connected with Aaron & Bobby Weiss. He now spends his time between Austin and Midland, Texas working as an entrepreneur and creative professional in various endeavors.

    Don is originally from Fort Worth, Texas, graduating from Texas Christian University.  He has lived in Midland, Texas for the last 42 years.  During that time, Don has worked in the oil and gas business and is currently President of Stanolind Permian LLC.Don has spent the last 20 years concentrating on oil and gas acquisitions, completing numerous transactions greater than $1B in value

Follow our journey.

 
Song of the Cicada will have its World Premiere as an Official Selection at the Austin Film Festival. #AFF29 takes place October 27 - November 3, 2022 Song of the Cicada is a documentary about an eccentric mortician grappling with his legacy while m
Some big news is coming soon. Keep your coffin lids on in the meantime!
Nighty night! 😘 it’s always nice to be tucked in. Sweet dreams Dale Carter! ⚰️ Photographs like these were common in embalming schools in the late 1800s and early 1900s. ‘A mortician’s nightmare’. There is a book that came ou
Why does #DaleCarter, a kind-natured mortician, have a portrait of #JeffreyDahmer in his living room? @songofthecicada is launching a @Kickstarter campaign on April 21st, and one of the rewards is a phone call with Dale so you can ask him yourself. #
ONE WEEK until the @songofthecicada @kickstarter campaign launch! 🚀Follow along here for updates on how to support and share a new documentary from cousins @aa_weiss and @robertweissart that’s ten years in the making! ⚰️⚰️⚰️
“When it comes to the funeral home, I’m on a short leash electronically. A death call can happen at any time.” — Dale Carter #songofthecicada #morticianlife #documentaryfilm #galvestonisland #covid19 #embalming
Dale Carter was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and moved to West Texas as a baby. He visited #Galveston often, and eventually moved there in 2000. In his youth, Dale was curious about death, and anything other people were uncomfortable with. Dale began
@songofthecicada is set in historic and beautiful #GalvestonIsland in southeast Texas. Filmmakers and cousins @aa_weiss and @robertweissart have family ties to the town of Galveston, where Bobby grew up. He serendipitously met the film’s subjec
This still is from one of the first shots cousins and co-directors @aa_weiss and @robertweissart took when they began filming with Dale Carter on #GalvestonIsland over ten years ago. #songofthecicada #mortician #kickstarterproject #galveston #documen
12 days until we launch our @kickstarter campaign to finish @songofthecicada ! Follow along here for updates. #songofthecicada #documentaryfilm #morticianlife #galvestonisland #galvestontx #documentary #covid_19 #morticians #dalecarter
According to mortician Dale Carter, a repulsive profession must be counteracted by lavishness at home. Sign-up at our link in bio for exciting upcoming announcements!
In 'Song of the Cicada,' mortician Dale parts the “formaldehyde curtain” and invites the viewer into the world of the macabre.
Meet Dale Carter, an eccentric mortician living in historic Galveston, Texas, and the subject of our new documentary 'Song of the Cicada.' Visit the link in bio to sign up for upcoming announcements. “I like the mysterious, the unknown, and th
When we first began this journey a decade ago, we had little idea of the scope or the direction this story would take. All we had was Dale Carter; ten years later, we have found that is still more than enough. Our documentary #SongoftheCicada is abou
“We’re in a weird part of history right now.” Song of the Cicada. A new documentary coming 2021. Subscribe for updates at the link in bio.
“I had to know what was beyond.” Song of the Cicada. A new documentary coming 2021. Subscribe for updates at the link in bio.
"Death has to be viewed through a filter.” Song of the Cicada. A new documentary coming 2021. Subscribe for updates at the link in bio.
Here’s a Dale Carter fact for you. He isn’t afraid of blood, he isn’t afraid of guts...but he is afraid of DIRT. In fact, he hates it! “There’s something basic about it. There’s something icky, something really nas
 

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