Directed by Deirdre Fishel Produced by Tony Heriza

Transcription

1 Directed by Deirdre Fishel Produced by Tony Heriza Even though we don t want to think about it, if we re lucky enough to live a long life, we ll need help. 90% of Americans want to age at home. But what will it look like? And who will provide that care? WORLD PREMIERE Sheffield DocFest in Sheffield, England NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE AFI DOCS in Washington, DC Press Contact: Deirdre Fishel - Director deirdrefishel@gmail.com Sales Contact: Tony Heriza - Producer tony.heriza@gmail.com

2 Synopsis Although we d rather not think about it, we re all aging. And if we re lucky enough to live a long life, most of us will need help. 90% of Americans want to age at home, but who will provide the care we ll need? CARE pulls back the curtain on the largely unseen world of home elder care. With a verité eye, it follows the stories of care workers and their clients. We meet undocumented Vilma, who lovingly cares for 93- year old Dee long an independent businesswoman, who lives 3,000 miles away from her closest family. We go to work with Laurie, mother of 5, who tends to wheelchair- bound Larry in a tiny rural town. We meet Toni whose husband, a CBS executive, suffers from severe Parkinson s disease. Peter would die in a nursing home, Toni says, but keeping him home requires 24/7 help. CARE depicts the beauty and social importance of home- based care. It also reveals a broken system, where workers make poverty wages and families struggle to pay for the care they need. The film sounds the alarm about a rapidly aging population and an impending crisis of care. Official Film Website Social Media Facebook: facebook.com/caredocumentary Instagram: CareDocumentary

3 Director s Statement By Deirdre Fishel I have long had an interest in the lives of older Americans, a group whose stories are rarely told. In 1994, I directed Still Doing It, an intimate look at the amazing lives of vibrant women over 65. My mother, at 73, was a character in that film. A decade later, however, she was growing frail. It was scary to think of her continuing to live alone, but she was adamant about aging in her own home. My sister and I- - both of us working parents knew that as much as we love her, at some point we d have to get help. But as we began to investigate the world of paid home care, we were shocked by what we found; a largely unregulated system, confusing to navigate and totally uncovered by Medicare. To make matters worse, care workers were making poverty wages. With our elder population soaring, I assumed someone had to be making a film about this, but when I realized they weren t I started research right away. One influence on my decision to actually go ahead with Care was the dramatic feature Amour, with its vivid portrayal of a man caring for his wife after a massive stroke. Watching the raw intimacy as he helped her with showering and getting dressed, seeing the magnitude of the physical labor for him and the pain of dependency for her these were revelations for me. Despite being all around us, the day- to- day realities of the frail elderly and home caregiving are largely invisible to the young and healthy. But as the baby boomers age, we will be faced with a tsunami of need and the discovery that the U.S. system is broken on all sides. In following the workers and elders in Care for two years I was deeply moved by the beauty of hands on care and the profound connections that care work engenders. I wanted to make a film that would tell the story of these intimate relationships and reveal how both workers and clients are struggling in an inadequate care system. I hope the film will encourage audiences to wrestle with one of the biggest questions of our time: How are we going to care for our elders and the workers who let them live with dignity?

4 About the Director Deirdre Fishel has a 20- year history of directing both documentaries and dramas. Her films have premiered at Sundance and SXSW and been broadcast in 25 countries worldwide. Her documentary Still Doing It, about women over 65, was expanded into a book co- authored with producer Diana Holtzberg and published by Penguin Books. Recent projects include a web documentary, Suicide On Campus, produced in conjunction the New York Times Magazine and a transmedia project, The Boy Game. Deirdre is an Associate Professor at the City College of New York. About the Producer Tony Heriza has been producing media for social change since the 1970s. His recent award- winning documentary Concrete, Steel & Paint about restorative justice has been screened widely and is distributed through the filmmaker owned co- op New Day Films. Tony has taught documentary film production at Rutgers University and the University of Pennsylvania and is currently Director of Media Production at the American Friends Service Committee.

5 Main Characters - Care VILMA & DOLORES Vilma, an undocumented worker from Costa Rica, was cleaning houses before she discovered the world of elder care. She s passionate about her work, but wishes it was seen as a profession with real benefits. Married to an American man, she dreams of bringing her son to live with her. But she doesn t make enough money to process her green card. Dolores ( Dee ) was an independent business woman and early feminist who never married or had children. Work was the core of her identity until her declining health forced her to retire at 90. With her only family 3,000 miles away Vilma is her lifeline. The two have a profound bond, but Dee is ambivalent about being cared for and she can be difficult. LAURIE & LARRY Laurie, a mother of five, lives in the tiny rural town of McClure, Pennsylvania. She used to work in a nursing home, but finds the one- on- one of home care far more satisfying. Watching Larry, her client of of five years deteriorate, however, is breaking her heart. Larry, a veteran, one- time factory worker, and hunter has emphysema and only has 10% use of both his lungs. Wheelchair bound, there are lots of things he d like to do that he can t, but he is adamant about staying at home near his grandchildren. DELORES & MISS NINA Delores has been a home health aide since She s a hard worker but at $10/hr she hasn t been able to save a penny. When she s displaced by Superstorm Sandy she has to send her 11- year old son away and move into a FEMA hotel. When that funding ends, she winds up in a women s shelter, but she still commutes daily to care for her client Miss Nina. Miss Nina, a deeply religious woman with a sharp tongue and tremendous pride, doesn t like to leave her house, since a stroke left her unable to walk. Frustrated, she can be cantankerous, but Delores takes it in stride, using humor to get her client to talk and laugh. TONI & PETER & EDITH Toni a former teacher, was looking forward to retirement and traveling with her husband Peter, when he was struck with Parkinson s Disease. Now, she is struggling to keep him at home and help him see that his life still has meaning. But the cost of his care is threatening them with financial ruin.

6 Peter was a brilliant reporter and CBS executive, who traveled the world until a vicious form of Parkinson s changed everything. Several months in a nursing home caused his health to deteriorate rapidly. His wife Toni says, I think putting him in a nursing home now would be a death sentence. Caring for him at home has challenges, but it provides him with any dignity he has left. Edith, an African immigrant, has been caring for Peter for years. Toni says, when Edith walks in the door, Peter s whole face lights up. Edith cared for him even when her own husband had a heart attack. And she stays with them when Toni and Peter qualify for Medicaid and have to start paying her less money for more hours. She says, I don t want to feel guilty, say if I leave Peter, he will deteriorate.

7 Credits Mind s Eye Productions presents in association with Community Media Productions Directed by Deirdre Fishel Produced by Tony Heriza Edited by Annukka Lilja James Klein Finishing Editor Jean Tsien, ACE Cinematography David Alvarado Deirdre Fishel Original Music Satoshi Takieshi Shoko Nagai Executive Producers Jane & Joe Goldblum Associate Producers Josh Butler Jay & Louise Greenspan Executive Producer for ITVS Sally Jo Fifer Supervising Producer for ITVS Michael Kinomoto Consulting Producer for ITVS Noland Walker

8 Key Funders The Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur Foundation JustFilms Ford Foundation Independent Television Service (ITVS) Chicken and Egg Pictures The Fledgling Fund AFI/NBC Universal Impact Grant BritDOCS Bertha Connect Fund Key Partners Caring Across Generations Consumer Voice Eldercare Workforce Alliance Fledgling Fund Hand In Hand Independence Foundation Jews for Racial and Economic Justice National Domestic Workers Alliance New York State Health Foundation PHI