Aging in Maine brings the power of documentary film to support the work of Maine-based organizations focused on aging-related issues. It’s the inaugural Camden International Film Festival’s Engagement Summit, and a wonderful opportunity for seniors and their loved ones all around the state to see aging differently, through the eyes of film makers.
This March CIFF introduces the Aging in Maine Screening Tour, a statewide initiative sponsored by Camden National Bank that brings documentary films to more than 10 Maine cities and towns. The tour uses the lens of media to explore critical aging matters and to engage Maine communities in a thoughtful inter-generational dialogue around issues of aging and dementia-related illnesses.
On Tuesday, March 18, CIFF will kick-off its Aging in Maine Screening Tour in Orono. In partnership with the University of Maine’s Center on Aging and the Eastern Area Agency on Aging, we’ll present Golden Shorts, a free screening of award-winning documentary short films on aging.
The GOLDEN SHORTS Program includes:
KINGS POINT
Sara Giliman, USA, 2012, 30 min
Kings Point tells the stories of five seniors living in a typical American retirement resort—men and women who came to Florida decades ago with their spouses by their sides and their health intact, and now find themselves grappling with love, loss and the desire for human connection. A bittersweet look at our national obsession with self-reliance, Kings Point explores the dynamic tension between living and aging—between our desire for independence and our need for community—and underscores our powerful ambivalence toward growing old.
OLD PEOPLE DRIVING
Shaleece Haas, USA, 2010, 25 min
In the tender and surprising documentary short, Old People Driving, we climb into the passenger seat alongside Milton (age 96) and Herbert (age 99) as they confront a grim milestone: the end of their driving years. Through their stories, and a review of the traffic safety research, we learn what’s at stake for graying drivers. And we discover the heartbreaking truth about a generation that came of age with the car: that they, too, will eventually sputter to a stop.
SLOMO
Josh Izenberg, USA, 2013, 16 min
Depressed and frustrated with his life, Dr. John Kitchin abandons his career as a neurologist and moves to Pacific Beach. There, he undergoes a radical transformation into SLOMO, trading his lab coat for a pair of rollerblades and his IRA for a taste of divinity.
THE CARETAKER
Kate McLean and Theo Rigby, USA, 2013, 7 min
A short documentary explores the tender relationship between a caretaker who is an undocumented immigrant and an elderly woman in the last months of her life.
GRANDPA AND ME AND A HELICOPTER TO HEAVEN
Johan Palmgren, Sweden, 2013, 5 min
A world all on its own of humour, warmth and love: Between a boy and his bedridden grandfather there is deep friendship. The aging man has a secret he wants to share with his grandson; together they make for the woods on a final adventure.
Additional screenings along the Aging in Maine Screening Tour will include:
Tue, March 18 at 7 pm – University of Maine at Orono, DP Corbett Room
Wed, March 19 at 7 pm – Strand Theatre, Rockland
Sat, March 22 at 3:30 pm – Colonial Theatre, Belfast
Sun, March 23 at 1 pm and 3 pm – Lincoln Theater, Damariscotta
Wed, April 2 at 6 pm – Portland Museum of Art, part of Maine Health’s “Geri Day”, Portland
Mon, April 6 at 12 pm and 2:30 pm – Frontier Café, Brunswick
Sun, April 27 at 2 pm – The Grand, Ellsworth
Sat, May 10 at 1:30 pm – Muskie Community Center, Waterville
Tue, May 13 All Day – Cross Insurance Center, part of EAAA Senio Expo, Bangor
Thu, June 12 at 7 pm – Harborside Marina, part of the 24th Maine Geriatric’s Conference, Bar Harbor
Thu, July 10 at 8:30 pm – Camden Amphitheatre, Camden
For more information on the screenings, tour or the Camden International Film Festival, visit www.camdenfilmfest.org.
The Aging in Maine program is being conducted in partnership with the University of Maine Center on Aging, the Portland Press Herald and The Conversation Project, with support from the Fledgling Fund, Camden National Bank, Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation and The Bingham Program.