The Whistle Stop F.I.L.M. Festival (Filmmaker Interactive Local Meetup) screens four films at the Aging Better Together: The Power of Community conference in Salt Lake City. The national conference addresses how Baby Boomers can take charge of the next chapters of their lives by reinventing how they grow older in a community such as cohousing.
The Whistle Stop F.I.L.M. Festival put together a film program around the topic of aging. The screening is sponsored in part by, Wonderland Hills Development, The Little Yoga Studio; Boulder Community Media.
Here’s the screening schedule:
Thursday May 19th; 7pm
Opening Reception and Film – There is a fully functioning movie theater at the University Guest House and conference center and not to be missed!
It is the Post Theatre built at Fort Douglas in 1932. It has been restored to its original look and feel with seating for 250 and upgraded with state of the art audio and video projection system.
“Aging Gratefully: The Power of Community”
(TRT: 51 minutes) Directed by Alan O’Hashi; Produced by Boulder Community Media (BCM)
Members of the Silver Sage Village Community will be on hand for a Q and A after the film.
Synopsis: What if 25 seniors from around the country decided to age together in a cohousing community. Filmmaker and Silver Sage Village resident Alan O’Hashi was on his death bed in December 2013. Following a 6 week hospital and rehab stay and a month of home confinement, he joined a yoga community to regain his strength, but learned more about himself than just getting healthier. Through his reflections, he recounts his continuing recovery and weaves those experiences with the perspectives of neighbors with Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and those who find themselves in supportive neighborly care giving roles. The film features the perspectives of cohousing pioneers Jim Leach and Chuck Durrett as well as gerontologist Anne Glass.
Friday May 20th; 7pm
“Bullet Proof Karma”
(TRT: 9 minutes) Directed by Halonah Abraham Paiss; Produced by Paiss Productions
Synopsis: Halonah is 17 years old and a senior in Boulder, CO where she lives in the Nomad Cohousing neighborhood. In making “Bulletproof Karma,” a spark took flame inside her. For people who don’t like to learn through a textbook (including herself), she sees how important digital media are to educate people about important ideas in an entertaining way. This is a true story about Barry Shoda, a man diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and a deadly brain tumor. His doctor told him he had only a short time to live. Barry did several things to save his life, including taking a CBD oil made from hemp. This documentary provides hope that people with cancer can have an effective alternative to chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
“Taken”
(TRT: 5 minutes) Directed by Don Sniffin; Produced by KBZ Films
Synopsis: Don is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker with an innate ability to tell a compelling and unique story. He studied at the Colorado Film School, is a graduate of the Lighthouse Writer’s Master Screenplay program, and Don has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wyoming. In “Taken”, no good deed goes unpunished. An ordinary Joe in an extraordinary circumstance must find his inner courage and come to the rescue of someone who has been “Taken”.
Synopsis: Len Barron selects an unconventional cast ‐ eight grandmothers ‐ for his stage production about Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. On stage, the women charm audiences with their wit and exuberance as they reveal untold chapters in the scientists’ biographies. But meanwhile, behind the curtain,their intersecting life experiences create a new narrative of struggle and triumph as a Latina abuela surmounts her struggles with spoken English, an African American grandma reflects on her lifelong fight for civil rights, and an Anglo grandmother recalls being a teenager during WWII. In this documentary film, director Robin Truesdale takes us behind the scenes with the women (who are not professional actors) as they rehearse, laugh, and beautifully emulate the messages they present on stage. The film leads us through a storybook of past and present, illuminating the magic of fairly tales and belief in the impossible. Einstein, Bohr and grandmothers combine for a film whose powerful message extends beyond age, gender, and even science – its an affirmation of the value of playfulness and imagination within us all.
Whistle Stop F.I.L.M. Fest 