Familiar Touch

Familiar Touch

Director: Sarah Friedland
Country: USA

German Premiere
2024 | 90 min. | English
Subtitles: German
FSK | Nicht geprüft / No clearance

Cast_ Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, H. Jon Benjamin Screenplay_ Sarah Friedland Camera_ Gabe C. Elder Producer_ Alexandra Byer , Matthew Thurm, Sarah Friedland Rights_ Memento

Sensitive, touching, and brimming with gentle humor: a woman struggles with dementia and her transition to assisted living.

At times, 80-year-old Ruth still feels as young and exuberant as a teenager, ready for love. She already finds it difficult to accept that she can no longer manage her everyday life on her own. It’s even harder for her to acknowledge the cognitive decline she is suffering because of dementia. She rejects the roles ascribed to her, whether it’s that of mother, patient, or old lady. Conflicts with the nursing staff at her new residential home are inevitable. As are identity crises: who am I? And who am I still?

Director Sarah Friedland began writing ›Familiar Touch‹ shortly after the death of her grandmother, who had dementia. With a lot of humor, but without shying away from uncomfortable truths, she succeeds in creating a coming-of-age drama about old age that is moving and continually surprising.

Director

Sarah Friedland is a filmmaker and choreographer whose work has been shown at festivals such as the New York Film Festival and at the MoMA. She has worked as an assistant to Steve McQueen and Kelly Reichardt. ›Familiar Touch‹ is her debut feature, which won her the prize for best director in the ‘Orizzonti’ section at Venice.

Trailer

Screenings