patrick daniel kelly

Patrick's song "Happy" which was featured in the 2015 independent feature film Altered Minds starring Judd Hirsch was registered for consideration in the 2016 Oscars for Best Song. Sadly, the song was not nominated, but the experience has garnered positive attention from both the film and music industries.  

Patrick Kelly's and Erin Sax’s “Happy” is the featured song in the critically acclaimed movie Altered Minds, directed by Michael Wechsler and starring Judd Hirsch. Below is the official music video for the recording in which Sax and writer Patrick Kelly address PTSD as it manifests within this psychological thriller.

According to Erin Sax...

“Several years ago, a director came to me and asked me to write a song for a movie he was making. The movie, altered minds with Judd Hirsch, was about one night in the lives of one family who uncover a lifelong secret, and the toll this secret takes on the family. When I got the script I was recovering from surgery for a lump in my breast. I was depressed, scared and not getting out of bed. A fellow songwriter had reached out to me about working with me on the song and…well…I wasn’t very nice. The songwriter, Patrick Kelly, had lost his leg to cancer at 17. He challenged me to get off my ass and work with him on the song.

“The result of that time was the song ‘Happy,’ now a potential academy award contender for best original song. It has been a strange and amazing journey since ‘Happy’ was listed as a potential academy award contender. So many have fallen in love with the song. Total strangers have showed their support in incredible ways because ‘Happy’ has spoken to them. Others have sent slightly less encouraging messages. Calling to say ‘Happy’ is powerful and compelling, but will never get heard or recognized because we are outsiders. ‘Those are just the breaks.’ And I suppose that is our biggest challenge, that the song won’t get a chance, not because it doesn’t move people, but simply because of who we are not. 

“This has become a David and Goliath story. Through a grass roots campaign, fans have crowdfunded thousands of dollars to give us the chance to get heard by the Academy voters. Somehow ‘Happy’ has become a beacon for people who believe that anything is possible. That music can still move people in powerful ways, no matter who they are. Here’s to hoping that ‘Happy’ can continue be heard, inspire others to face their own challenges, and despite the odds, not to ever give in to the darkness.”