FAMILIAR TOUCH
Genre
Drama
Running time
91 minutes
Year
2024
Language
English
Subtitle
Arabic
Country
United States of America (USA)
Director
Sarah Friedland
Bio
Producer
Alexandra Byer, Matthew Thurm
Cast
Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy Mcqueen, H. Jon Benjamin
Scriptwriter
Sarah Friedland
Anchored by a precise and sensitive performance by 79-year-old theatre actress Kathleen Chalfant, Sarah Friedland’s debut film – made in collaboration with the residents and care workers at a Los Angeles retirement home – shows the experience of dementia from this elderly woman’s own point of view. Her son, whom she mistakes for a date, takes her to the care home that she thinks is a hotel bar. Once a professional chef, she takes over the kitchen for a morning, then escapes to go to a produce stall, bits of reality she can still grasp. Her triumph is to find the life worth living where she is, as she is. A celebration of the human mind, in all its complexity.
Other movies
ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU
Director: Cherien Dabis
This compelling family drama traces three generations of Palestinians from 1948-2022, revealing the profound impacts of the Nakba. The story begins in 1988 with Noor, a man who joins a protest that turns violent in the West Bank. Decades later his mother, Hanan, recounts her son’s story, starting with the 1948 expulsion of his grandfather from Jaffa. Amid the hardship, the family holds on to the hope of returning to their ancestral home. A love story between Hanan and her husband Salim serves as a beacon of light. Through intimate, moving performances, this film explores how trauma and heritage shape the bonds between a grandfather, a father and son, while filled with moments of joy, love and humor.
THE FINALE
Director: Rodolphe Chedid
In a secluded Lebanese village, Amal and Naeem, married for 50 years, find their peaceful life marked by the absence of their children, who left during the war more than three decades ago. Feeling a profound void, Amal seeks to rekindle their connection and rediscover meaning by asking Naeem to write their life story. He reluctantly agrees, and they embark on an intimate journey through forgotten memories and unspoken truths. As they revisit their past, they confront the love they’ve built and the questions that have shaped their lives. Filmed with a unique and original cinematic language, this love story is a powerful testament to how film can beautifully convey emotions, memories and the intimate details that make life extraordinary.
LATE SHIFT
Director: Petra Volpe
Petra Volpe’s salute to caregivers is executed with strength and admiration. Led by a nuanced and meticulous performance from Leonie Benesch, Late Shift is an eloquent plea for compassion, as well as being a gripping story about a day in the life of a hospital worker. Floria (Benesch) is a nurse on an understaffed surgical ward, where she balances the constant demands of her patients — medical and emotional — knowing that every decision she makes (or neglects) could have fatal consequences. Floria, and Volpe’s camera, are constantly on the move to beeping monitors and crash carts in the ward’s confined quarters. As Switzerland’s Oscar submission, Late Shift delivers high drama and a sharp question: who will care for the carers?