In the summer of 1945, Edith, a Midwestern woman wakes to begin the most important day of her life. She dresses her newly born daughter, Patsy, in her 'Sunday best' and travels to the local, rural train station to pick up her husband, Stan, a recently liberated Prisoner of War. However, when the train finally reaches the depot something unexpected occurs. A film about the seemingly disregarded emotions of those awaiting soldiers' return, As Ever, Stan takes a look at war from the eyes of those left behind to wait.

As Ever, Stan is the true story of Alex Schwarm’s grandparents, Stanley and Edith Schwarm. The project began in a Performance Studies class at Northwestern University in the fall of 2007. In the class, Schwarm crafted a family memoir based on family artifacts, including the letters Edith received during the war. After the class, Schwarm adapted the memoir into a screenplay, focusing on the day of Stan’s return.

Schwarm then teamed up with Samantha Soto and Matthew Litwiller to pitch the project to Studio 22, Northwestern’s student-run production company. They received a grant in Sping 2008 to take the film into production. An undergraduate crew of 40 shot the film over the course of three days in October 2008 in McHenry County, IL. The film was completed in June 2009 and premiered at the 2009 Studio 22 Premiere.

The film is currently complete and making its festival run.

AS EVER, STAN