The Genius of Caring

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

We want to thank all of you, our community of support, for your generosity, love and kindness. Due to your ongoing support, we have been able to continue to serve caregivers through our work. 

In this report, we want to share some news about our latest project Heaven Through the Backdoor. The film tells the story of a woman, Yolanda Shae, grappling with the most universal, philosophical questions about what it means to fully live and what it means to die. Yolanda, or Yo as she was affectionatly known, was a dear friend of Anna, the film’s director. Here is a statement from Anna:

"In 2013, I lost one of my closest friends. Her name was Yo (Yolanda Shae). We filmed with her during the last two years of her life. Our 15-year friendship transcended our 48-year age difference and laid a solid foundation of trust for this project. Yo was many things: a great-grandmother, career weed dealer, intellectual, psychic, hostess, tyrant - and, above all, a captivating storyteller. Our project juxtaposes vivid interpretations of Yo’s stories with intimate observational footage. Yo’s stories, which span eight decades and five continents, are presented virtually uncut to honor her “performance.” Our artistic interpretation, however, is indulgent. To bring her memories and stories to life, we use varied techniques including intricately built sets, animal actors, puppetry and an archive of family photos and artwork."

Family Caregiver Alliance, who we've partnered with for The Genius of Caring, will be our lead partner in organizing our outreach efforts for Heaven Through the Backdoor. We are also thrilled to report that we have recieved support from the SF Film Foundation, the Sundance Institute and the Creative Work Fund.  We also have been selected for a project space residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in the Fall of 2019. Our project includes a feature length documentary film airing on television and in theaters, along with the exhibition of our built sets in public spaces, museums and galleries. To further envelope our audiences in the multifaceted and sensory experience of Yo’s world, we plan to create listening stations along the exterior walls of the house. By putting on headphones and peering through windows, audiences experience a version of of reality that mingles scale, memories and reinterpretations of material things. The locations we where display the work will also become gathering places for community members to interact with the material and with each other, bringing a vital social element to how the work is experienced. We have had two events already, they were inspiring  and creatively generative.

Looking forward to sharing more as the project develops!

Thanks,

Banker, Anna and Team

Dear GlobalGiving Community,

We want to thank all of you, our community of support, for your generosity, love and kindness. Due to your ongoing support, we have been able to continue to serve caregivers through our work. The Genius of Caring campaign is designed to support caregivers and the loved ones of those affected by caregiving intensive diseases. For healthcare professionals, students, and others, the project also offers a uniquely intimate glimpse into the caregiving experience and creates an intimate portrait of a community connected through compassion.

In the face of what can be a very isolating experience, we are extremely proud that our work continues to provide a space for caregivers and their loved ones to share their experiences and create a meaningful community. Individual caregivers, who have participated in our community events, or contributed to our website and via social media channels, have told us how much they appreciate this welcoming and supportive space to share.

We now have over 350 stories contributed to our Care Gallery. We are connected to more than 5500 social media followers and post daily, interacting personally with this community. 

PROJECT UPDATE: Dolores & Chuck

We are excited to share that we are in the final stages of editing our latest portrait of Dolores and Chuck. Dolores and Chuck were a warm, giving, loving couple that had been together for 36 years. We began filming with them last year just before Chuck passed away from late stage Lewy Body dementia. We have continued to film with Dolores through the process of mourning her loss. She is a brave compassionate and generous soul who tells it like it is. In the later stages of Chuck’s disease and since he passed, Dolores has been very committed to helping other family caregivers. She is active in support groups and knows first hand how candidly sharing her experience has the power to help others. We feel honored to have met both Dolores and Chuck and look forward to sharing their story.

When the film is completed, we will present both a stand alone short documentary film that will be screened at community events and in festivals as well as a chaptered interactive story that will be added to the PORTRAITS page of The Genius of Caring website.

Here is a message from Dolores:

"My husband Chuck, the love of my life, passed away on March 12, 2017. During the last two or three weeks of his life, he had a difficult time swallowing liquids and solid foods. The swallow specialist changed his diet to thicken fluids and puréed food, but also told me this issue would increase to the point where he would stop eating and taking fluids.

After that conversation, I reached out to hospice. Another layer of care was comforting to me, but it only lasted for nine days. My heart is broken, my life without him seems surreal. For those caregivers out there, enjoy every moment your loved one shares with you!"

We wish you and your loved ones Happy Holidays!

With gratitude,

Banker White

The Genius of Caring project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works and through the generous support of these organizations and individuals: Sundance Institute, The Fledgling Fund, Home Instead Senior Care, SFFILM, Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, PSW Family Foundation, Abigail Disney, McCance Foundation and private donors.