Lifelong Studio ®: 'Familiar Touch' Screening & Workshop

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16 •. 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM • FREE • FOR ADULTS 55 AND OLDER*

AT THE BRONX MUSEUM (1040 Grand Concourse)

SCHEDULE:
6 PM – Familiar Touch Screening (90 minutes)
7:30 PM – Break with Light Refreshments
7:45 PM – Anatomy of a Film Scene Workshop with Director Sarah Friedland & Lead Actress Kathleen Chalfant

*This two-part event is part of The Bronx Museum’s Lifelong Studio program, which offers free art-making workshops to adults 55+. You must be 55 years of age or older to participate. Registrants should plan to attend BOTH the film screening AND the following workshop. If you are interested in being notified about future Lifelong Studio programs, please subscribe to our email newsletter.

EVENT OVERVIEW

Part One: Screening: 6 – 7:30 PM

The first part of this event is a screening of Familiar Touch. The award-winning film was written and directed by Sarah Friedland — an alum of The Bronx Museum’s AIM Fellowship—an annual career accelerator program for the most promising artists in NYC.

Familiar Touch is a “coming-of-old-age” feature that compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant) as her memories and desires shift, while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.

Refreshment Break: 7:30 – 7:45 PM

Between the film and the workshop, there will be a 15-minute break.

The Bronx Museum will serve complimentary light refreshments including snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Part Two: Workshop: 7:45 – 8:30 PM

The second part of this event is a workshop called Anatomy of a Film Scene led by Friedland and Chalfant. The workshop is formatted as a short lecture with a demonstration, plus time for questions afterward.

Workshop participants will learn how directors and actors work together to make a film. Kathleen and Sarah will reverse engineer a scene from Familiar Touch, inviting participants to join them in breaking down and then recreating it with particular attention to staging and performance.

ABOUT FAMILIAR TOUCH

The film opens as Ruth, a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen. She seems to have made the dish many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine.

When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself.

Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong.

As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own.

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