LAUnCH

When he was just 29 years old, Clay Gould — a husband, father and coach of the University of Texas at Arlington baseball team died after a battle with cancer. A few years later his wife, Lake Highlands resident J UL ie Go UL d, embarked on a therapeutic project while pursuing a film degree — a short movie that would bring personal catharsis and, hopefully, touch others hurting from the loss of a loved one. This year, the finished short film, “8”, is making its way around the festival circuit, debuting and winning “best short” at March’s South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival in Austin. i t screened at the d allas i ndependent Film Festival and Sarasota Film Festival in April, and in Boston’s i ndependence Film Festival this month.

How did “8” come to exist?

In 2001, my husband died. At the time, our daughter Logan was 10 months old. This movie is a gift to Clay, Logan, myself and it’s for other widows. I’d always known I wanted to make movies. I’d tried other things — like being in front of the camera — but I went back to school at UTA two years ago, and I was encouraged to make something based on personal experience. It was a therapeutic project. Two other UTA guys, cinematographer Bret Curry and co-director Daniel Laabs, eventually got on board. GoT