GHFF 2023 dementia shorts

Triple-bill of excellent shorts on dementia

In-person: Saturday 02 December 15:00, Wellcome Collection, Euston Road

Video-on-demand watch window: Sunday 03 December 19:00 GMT - Saturday 09 December 21:00 GMT

Passes and single tickets for films available on demand here!

My Mum Rita (2023)

Directed by Qiqi Hou, 20 mins

For eight years, 68-year-old Louise has been looking after her 92- year-old mum Rita, who is living with dementia. As both women grapple with Rita’s rapidly deteriorating condition, Louise must decide the best path forward for both herself and her mother.

Where's Wilma? (2023)

Directed by Naomi (Boz) Braithwaite, 25 mins

Where’s Wilma? a debut film by Boz Braithwaite, tells the story of the cruel reality of dementia and the impacts it has on a mother-daughter relationship. 

Filmed at the family home in London, over a three-week period, Where’s Wilma? documents the experiences of Boz' mother, their dog Wilma, and Boz, the daughter as sole carer.  

Capturing the extremes of emotions from anxiety, paranoia, loneliness, loss and complete desperation, with just some glimmers of remembered happiness, the film presents an honest and intimate account of the devastating effects of dementia on what had been an unbreakable bond.     

Dancing With Dementia (2023)

Directed by Elaine Harvey, 6 mins

Dancing with Dementia is a documentary short which explores the idea of dance as a metaphor for dementia.

People living with dementia were asked to record their response to the question - 'if dementia was a dance what kind of a dance would it be?'. In collaboration with sound artist Chris Gregory, their responses were woven together with music and found sound to create an original audio documentary which poetically reflects their embodied experiences of living with the condition.

The film aims to highlight the lived experience of dementia, and to explore how dance, with its emphasis on reciprocity, balance, exchange and animation has the potential to create a powerful counter-discourse; a significant challenge to the plethora of metaphors connected to the inanimate and the passive.

Panel discussion

The discussion after this triple-bill was moderated by Caitlin Jarrett, Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and member of the Global Health Film Advisory Board. Caitlin was joined by Qiqi Hou, director of My Mum Rita and Boz Braithwaite, director of Where's Wilma? and Trevor Salomon, Chair of the Carers’ Advisory Panel at Dementia Carers Count.