What We Carry with Us at The Garde

Directed by Tyler Gorman, What We Carry with Us is a graduate thesis film produced entirely in Connecticut. The project brought together a team made up of local residents, many of them students, to ensure the film reflected and supported the community at every stage of production. From cast to crew, every contributor called Connecticut home.

After the sudden passing of her mother, seventeen-year-old Alex is left to manage the struggling family diner in a tight-knit Connecticut town. Caught between honoring her mother’s legacy and chasing her own dreams of college, Alex finds herself at odds with her siblings, the mounting financial strain, and the community’s expectations. As tensions rise and the future of the diner hangs in the balance, Alex must navigate grief, responsibility, and growing up—all while discovering what it really means to carry on.