Frozen River Film Festival - Still Dreaming
Stretching physical, emotional and mental limits, a group of long-retired Broadway actors, musicians and dancers bravely dive into a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and find that nothing is what it seems to be.
Interview with Director JILANN SPITZMILLER & HANK ROGERSON
Watch Still Dreaming here:
We were first and foremost attracted to this story because of the amazing people who reside at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in the quiet and suburban town of Englewood, New Jersey. You’re just 10 miles from New York City, but indeed it seems a lifetime away. At the Lillian Booth, we discovered a group of people who have spent their whole lives following their dreams, some wildly successful, and some hardly at all. And here they are, retired, supposedly having given it all up.
But what we witnessed during the rehearsal and performance process of “Midsummer” is that the huge talent of these former entertainers is still alive and well, despite their physical and mental challenges. It was quite a surprise to see the level at which they could still play the game. And their energy, humor and candidness made it even all the better. We were amazed by what this unique cast achieved in spite of their formidable obstacles. What we witnessed was an awakening, and it was truly profound and most certainly inspiring.
We have passionately created this film to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. Our society tends to look away from the Aging issue. This film looks right at it – as a time of potential creative fulfillment rather than decline. We witness a group of elders coming out of retirement mode, and subsequently reawakening their minds, bodies and spirits in very moving and significant ways.
Staff of the Lillian Booth Actors Home reported that over the 6 weeks of production, several participants had their medication decreased. Others demonstrated increased self-esteem and improved disposition. There was a marked strengthening of community, not just within the cast of 15, but throughout the Home.
STILL DREAMING takes us on a very special journey to the heart and soul of creativity. This story shows us how important it is to explore, grow and express ourselves at every age.
STILL DREAMING is inspiring people of all ages across the globe to engage in the arts for better health and happiness. Studies have proven that among the elderly, Arts and creativity lead to:
• Increase in Happiness
• Increase in Social Support
• Increased Memory
• Increased Comprehension
• Increased Problem Solving
• Improvements in Word Recall
• Improvements in Story Recall
• Improvements in Verbal Fluency
• Decrease in Loneliness
• Decrease in Isolation
The feedback for the film has been wonderful—the film effects audiences in a profound and meaningful way through its honest portrayal of the powers of creativity, and how engaging in art-making can deeply enrich our lives at any age. All ages have connected with the film, since we are connected by the common experience of the need to create.
We hope that exposure on your site gives us greater access to a younger audience demographic. One of our outreach goals is to connect with younger audiences in order to foster inter-generational dialog between teens, 20 and 30-somethings and the elders in their communities. The arts tend to create environments of community, instead of environments that are focused largely on medical problems. Creative aging programs tend to be inherently inter-generational, and this is also highly beneficial to all involved.
We hope to connect with journalists to spread the word about our upcoming PBS broadcast, and buyers—we still have a couple distribution rights available.
The field of Creative Aging is currently growing and transforming, as the research information gets out into the Aging and Gerontology fields worldwide. There is intense interest in incorporating the Arts into prevention and wellness programs, as well as rehabilitation programs across the spectrum.
Many community arts associations such as visual art centers, theaters, music groups, folk arts groups, libraries, etc…are beginning to ask themselves how they can offer more high quality programming for aging citizens. It is an exciting time and we hope that you become actively involved in this movement!
We are currently working on outreach for the PBS broadcast of the film, and developing several new projects.
Interview: February 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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STILL DREAMING
Stretching physical, emotional and mental limits, a group of long-retired Broadway actors, musicians and dancers bravely dive into a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and find that nothing is what it seems to be.
Length: 93 MINUTES
Director: JILANN SPITZMILLER & HANK ROGERSON
Producer: JILANN SPITZMILLER & HANK ROGERSON
Writer: JILANN SPITZMILLER & HANK ROGERSON
About the writer, director and producer:
Hank Rogerson – Producer/ Director/ Writer/ Editor
Hank directed SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS, which picked up 11 awards on the festival circuit, was broadcast worldwide and had a theatrical run of over 25 U.S. cities. He also co-produced, directed and edited HOMELAND, an award-winning documentary about 4 families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Hank has free-lanced as a writer, director and producer within the film industry, and has twice been a Sundance Institute Fellow. Hank has performed in film, television, theater and improv. You can see him most recently on PREACHER, SICARIO and GOLD.
Jilann Spitzmiller –Producer/ Director/ Writer/ Editor/Cinematographer
Jilann’s documentary work has been broadcast around the globe on outlets such as BBC, Canal+, PBS, Sundance Channel, Discovery Health and StarzEncore. She produced the award-winning SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS and co-directed, produced and edited HOMELAND, which aired on National PBS in 2000. Along with Hank, she is a 3-time recipient of ITVS funding and a 2-time recipient of the Sundance Documentary Fund. Her work with Hank has won over 20 festival awards, including Special Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Audience Award, Best Feature and Best of Show. She was also a co-director/producer on CRITICAL CONDITION which aired on PBS’ POV and Bill Moyer’s Journal.
Key cast:
CHARLOTTE FAIRCHILD (Puck) Charlotte is a beloved Broadway veteran, having sung and danced in the original productions of 42nd St, Damn Yankees, Mame, All the Girls Came Out to Play, Mr. President and Fiorello. This is her first Shakespeare play.
DIMO CONDOS (Theseus/Oberon) Dimo is a former member of the Actors Studio and studied with the greats including Harold Clurman, Elia Kazan and Uta Hagan. He has performed in productions such as Waiting for Godot and Shakespeare’s Richard III. He is co-founder of the Lillian Booth Shakespeare group.
JOAN STEIN (Pianist & Snout) Joan got an early break in show business as a pianist on Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar, Zero Mostel and Imogen Coca. She later formed the Walden Trio and performed in the northeast for many years. She has also been a beloved teacher to many. She currently holds a weekly music salon at the Lillian Booth.
BOB EVANS (Flute/Thisbe) Bob Evans has had a long and distinguished career as a dancer, performing in 14 original Broadway productions including Damn Yankees, Pajama Game and Guys & Dolls. This is his first Shakespeare play.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): JOURNALISTS, BUYERS
Funders: Private Foundations and individual donors
Made in association with:
Where can I see it in the next month? https://stilldreaming.vhx.tv/buy/still-dreaming-documentary-feature-film?affiliate=stilldreaming&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fstilldreamingmovie.com%2F