Date of Submission

Fall 2021

Academic Program

Film and Electronic Arts

Project Advisor 1

Sky Hopinka

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Dreams to Remember is a hybrid short film, somewhere between documentary and narrative fiction, offering a peek into the mind of my aging father, Peter. Eight years ago, Peter was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and subsequently Parkinson’s disease. As Peter’s body withers and his mind begins to betray him, he seeks refuge and redemption in his dreams.

Dreams to Remember’s candid narration, recorded in documentary style interviews with Peter, tell a story of struggle, grief, and mortality. Juxtaposing the frailty and solitude of life’s final chapter, preposterous dream sequence vignettes inject Peter’s humor and desires, allowing Peter to rewrite his descent into a bittersweet love letter to the man he was and the man he wanted to be.

Peter struggles with his body's failure to keep up with his wild imagination. His arms cannot throw the ball he taught his sons to catch. His fingers forget the notes he hears echoing. His feet cannot keep the beat of the dance he taught his daughter, but when he dreams, when he tells the story of himself, he can re-inhabit the man he remembers.

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Download

This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.

Share

COinS