Senior Beat
by Carol Higgins Taylor
Eastern Area Agency on Aging
As promised last week, today we’re talking about the documentaries on aging that will be shown at the at the eighth annual Senior Expo 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Cross Insurance Center, Main Street Bangor.
The Camden International Film Festival has launched the Aging in Maine Screening Tour and the Senior Expo is one of the stops. A comfortable screening room will be set up across from the Grand Ballroom in which the Senior Expo is located. These films are beautifully done and not to be missed.
The Golden Short Program is a set of four short films taking place:
• Noon: “Old People Driving” is a tender and surprising short documentary. Climb into the passenger seat alongside Milton, 96, and Herbert, 99, as they confront the grim milestone of aging — 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 a car. And, who, like the car, will eventually sputter to a stop.
“Grandpa and Me and a Helicopter to Heaven” is a world of humor, warmth and love between a boy and his bedridden grandfather who share a deep friendship. The aging man has a secret he wants to share with his grandson and together they make for the woods on a final adventure.
“The Caretaker” is a short documentary that explores the tender relationship between a caretaker who is an undocumented immigrant and an elderly woman in the last months of her life.
“Famous 4A” introduces veterans Edward, John, Henry, Angel and George who are residents of Famous 4A, the hospice unit at Palo Alto Hospice Care Center in California. The film captures hospice life where hospital staff attend to one goal with the mantra of “keyword is comfortable.” The patients reflect on finding God before death, reminisce about fishing with the president during World War II, pose for pictures with Miss California and claim minor medical victories.
• 2 p.m.: “The Genius of Marian,” directed by Banker White and Anna Fitch. This film is a visually rich, emotionally complex story about one family’s struggle to come to terms with the changes brought about by Alzheimer’s disease. After Pam White is diagnosed at age 61 with early onset Alzheimer’s, life begins to change, slowly but irrevocably, for Pam and everyone around her. Pam’s husband grapples with his changing role from primary partner to primary caregiver. Her adult children find ways to show their love and support while mourning the slow loss of their mother. As Pam loses the ability to write, her eldest son, Banker, begins to record their conversations, allowing her to share memories of childhood and of her own mother, the renowned painter Marian Williams Steele who died of Alzheimer’s in 2001. “The Genius of Marian” paints a powerful contemporary portrait of the impact of Alzheimer’s disease, the power of art and the meaning of family.
• 4 p.m.: “Last Dreams” directed by Estephan Wagner. “Last Dreams” follows three women during their last month of life. These women portray an intimate and honest picture of what it means to be close to death. There are stories of solitude, reconciliation and love during the process of saying goodbye. The film follows their relationships with doctors, nurses, priests and family members, and gives the viewer an inside look when they discuss their most intimate subjects, express their love for their family members and go through a fundamental and final transformation.
Much to do and see so don’t miss the eighth annual Senior Expo.
Carol Higgins Taylor is the director of community education at Eastern Area Agency on Aging. For information, call 941-2865 or 800-432-7812.