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