AlzAuthors Launches Film Festival in Celebration of 10th Anniversary

AlzAuthors is a comprehensive educational and community-building resource for authors and caregivers impacted by dementia. The community has grown to around 400 authors across six continents since its founding. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, AlzAuthors is launching its first film festival centered on dementia.

“People may be familiar with AlzAuthors being about books, but we realized early on that not everybody reads,” Marianne Sciucco, a co-founder of AlzAuthors, said. “So we wanted to explore other ways of giving people information that they needed for their dementia journey using other media, and one of the media is film.” 

While AlzAuthors is primarily a community of writers, some are podcasters and filmmakers. AlzAuthors has previously screened films, but this is its first virtual film festival, which will include five films and discussions with each of the filmmakers. People interested can register to attend any of the online filmmaker discussions and will receive a link to watch the films on their own prior to the scheduled discussions.

“We made it convenient for the caregivers because we already know they’re strapped for time to begin with so this way they can take it at their leisure,” Sciucco said. “Then we arranged a meeting time with the filmmakers so that we could have a conversation and share what we learned from the film and learn more about the filmmaker and their story and make connections.”

AlzAuthors initially began as a blog, on which authors could post to promote their own books. In 2020, AlzAuthors began a podcast as a way to share more authors’ stories and it hosts panels and book clubs in partnership with other organizations. Last year, AlzAuthors published an anthology called Poetry for the Dementia Journey and is creating another book to be released in the future.

Sciucco founded AlzAuthors with Jean Lee and Vicki Tapia. The three of them, all writers, connected online and got to know each other on social media.

“What happened was we decided we really liked each other, we liked working together, we became really good friends,” Sciucco said. “That is the foundation of AlzAuthors, it’s three strangers who became friends through the dementia journey.”

Here’s a closer look at the five films the festival will feature.

Planet A

“Planet A,” written and directed by award-winning playwright Mary Crescenzo, highlights the lives of care home residents and their families. In the film, care home residents act out what it is like to live with dementia. 

The AlzAuthors’ discussion with Crescenzo was on Sept. 8.  

“The thing that struck me about it is the writing is brilliant,” Sciucco said of “Planet A.” It’s very moving.”

No Country for Old People

“No Country for Old People,” a three-part documentary series by filmmaker Susie Singer Carter and former U.S. attorney Rick Mountcastle, which is now streaming on Amazon. The series explores systemic neglect and failures in nursing facilities and Singer Carter shares how her mother, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease, received inadequate care in a well-regarded facility. 

The discussion with Singer Carter will take place on Sept. 22.

“The system is set up as a profit-making model, and it favors the businesses, the owners, and the corporations in ownership positions,” Mountcastle told Being Patient in an interview. “They also exploit people with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and who’s going to believe them? The system is set up to allow the exploitation for profit of the voiceless.”

Lousy: Love in the Time of Dementia

“Lousy: Love in the Time of Dementia,” is a documentary by veteran journalist Frank Silverstein. 

Silverstein will discuss his film on Oct. 6. 

“Frank’s film is very short but powerful,” Sciucco said. “He had two parents with dementia at the same time, living together, in complete oblivion, lost in their disease.”

Wine, Women and Dementia

“Wine, Women and Dementia,” by Kitty Norton, a former NBC editor, celebrates community and the strength of caregivers in this PBS documentary. It details her journey across the United States forming connections with other caregivers along the way. The film won awards at Santa Monica International Film Festival, Vero Beach Film Festival, Malibu International Film Festival among others. 

Norton will discuss her film on Nov. 10.

The Present

“The Present,” by award-winning filmmaker C. Nathaniel Brown, follows the story of Mya and her family as they celebrate their first Christmas after the death of their mother, who hadAlzheimer’s. The film centers on discussions of grief and healing. 

Brown will discuss his film on Dec. 8. 

More information and details about how to register can be found here.