Legacy Film Series
"I shall not grow conservative with age."
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1815-1902
Upcoming Legacy Film Series Programs

At the San Francisco Public Libraries:

Saturday, February 20: 2-4 pm, Main Library
Koret Auditorium, Lower Level
100 Larkin Street (at Grove), (415) 557-4400

Better with Age: Three documentary films on California artists, art lovers, and aging

  • Bella Bella, profiling Bay Area artist Bella Feldman.
  • Shadow & Light, focusing on the art of San Franciscan Elaine Badgley.
  • Smitten, the story of art collector Rene di Rosa, who is 'smitten' by art, and has the world's largest and most notable collection of Northern California art at his di Rosa Preserve.
    • Panel discussion and reception to follow screening.

Note: Please see The Film Catalog for fuller descriptions of films.


Saturday, April 24: 3-4 pm, Richmond Branch Library
351 9th Ave (near Clement), (415) 355-5600

  • A Day with Francisco: Retirement didn’t suit Francisco Cardoza, so he decided to go back to work. The customers and employees at one Manhattan pharmacy are glad he did.
  • Life: The Silver Age: This film explores the implications of aging and caregiving in three very different countries: Japan, India and Tunisia.
  • Mr. Rubens Goes to Mars: A story of a withdrawn older man, who finds new energy at a dance club. When his zest for life starts to fade away it is rekindled by another source.

Wednesday, April 28: 7-8 pm, Excelsior Branch Library
4400 Mission St (at Cotter), (415) 355-2868

  • Why: An animated explanation by the filmmaker about why she went to art school at middle-age leads to an amusing, and amazing autobiographical discourse.
  • My Father’s Hopes: A brief documentary about an artist who was diverted into the business world, and later created a wonderful old age for himself.
  • Bella Bella: With creativity and verve, 71-year-old sculptor Bella Feldman overcomes the challenges of widowhood, a life-threatening illness, and a new trans-Atlantic love affair, while continuing to create her anti-war sculptures.

Saturday, May 8: 3-4 pm, Western Addition Branch Library
1550 Scott (at Geary), (415) 355-5727

  • My Father’s Hopes: A brief documentary about an artist who was diverted into the business world, and later created a wonderful old age for himself.
  • The Yard People: A group of African American couples came together in Buffalo, New York in the 1940s. Now in their 70s, 80s and 90s, they remain friends today due to their intergenerational 'yard parties' and community activism.

Tuesday, May 11: 3-4 pm, Mission Bay Branch Library
960 4th St (at Berry), (415) 355-2838

  • A Day With Francisco: Retirement didn’t suit Francisco Cardoza, so he decided to go back to work. The customers and employees at one Manhattan pharmacy are glad he did.
  • Mr. Reubens Goes to Mars: A story of a withdrawn older man, who finds new energy at a dance club. When his zest for life starts to fade away it is rekindled by another source.
  • Close Harmony: An Academy-Award winning documentary about a magical choir performance of seniors and middle school children.

Monday, May 24: 7-8 pm, Sunset Branch Library
1305 18th Ave (at Irving), (415) 355-2808

  • Trishaw: A Singapore trishaw driver (bicycle-driven vehicle) fights a battle against modernism. (Chinese, with English subtitles).
  • Close Harmony: An Academy-Award winning documentary about a magical choir performance of seniors and middle school children.

And don’t miss Celebrating Art With Elders!


The SF Public Library, Main Branch, from January 9th through February 28th, is presenting Celebrating Art with Elders, an exhibit of approximately 90 artworks by African-American, Asian, Filipino, American Indian, Hispanic and Caucasian seniors who have found fresh meaning in life, and a new way of expressing themselves through watercolor, acrylics, oil pastels, crayon, pen and ink, pencil, and collage.

This exhibit is a joint presentation by the SF Public Library and the San Francisco-based, nonprofit ELDERGIVERS organization, which is committed to reconnecting the isolated elderly with our communities. For more information about ELDERGIVERS, visit http://www.eldergivers.org/


Photo Credits: Let's Face It: Wendy Oser, Joan Levinson, Beverly Spencer Afloat: Erin Hudson Old Woman: Sandra Martin Productions