Bella Bella (27 min) Directed by Elizabeth Sher — USA

With creativity and verve, major Bay Area sculptor Bella Feldman overcomes the challenges of widowhood, a lifethreatening heart problem, and a new transatlantic love affair. The documentary provides inspiration for anyone who thinks reaching 70 marks the time to pack it in. The Director will be present at the screening.

Sweet Old Song (57 min) Directed by Leah Mahan — USA

Acclaimed African–American musician Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, renowned for a lifetime of jazz, blues, folk and country music, has been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts as a ‘national treasure.’ Although Armstrong died a few years ago at age 95, the film shows Howard at age 91, still delightful, creative, and outrageous, as well as his longtime romantic relationship with artist Barbara Ward, thirty years his junior. Sweet Old Song has been featured on a POV television program; this is the second POV program about the musician. Terry Zwigoff, also a Bay Area filmmaker, made the first film: "Louie Blue" in 1985.

Inside/Out (10 min) Directed by Jennifer Petrucelli — USA

At age 61, after struggling all her life to feel good about her physical appearance, Toni had finally come to peace with herself. Then suddenly she contracted a disease that left half of her face paralyzed. Now she faces the challenge of questioning what role her physical appearance plays in her feelings of self–worth.

Tillie Olsen: A Heart in Action (66 min) Directed by Annie Hershey — USA

An inspiring homage to Tillie Lerner Olsen — a renegade, revolutionary, distinguished fiction and non–fiction writer, feminist, humanist, labor organizer and social activist. Olsen's short stories Tell Me a Riddle and I Stand Here Ironing, immortalized the lives of working class women and single mothers. Extended interviews with Olsen during the last years of her life are interspersed with footage from her readings, as well as with comments from notable feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Alice Walker.

Backseat Bingo (5 min) Produced by Liz Blazer — USA

This clever animated documentary effectively dispels societal preconceptions about romance and older adults. A refreshingly candid group of 70, 80, and 90–something seniors in a retirement community share personal revelations on their continued need for love and intimacy.

Elsa y Fred (108 min) Directed by Marcos Carnevale — Argentina

When retired 77–year–old hypochondriac widower Fred moves to an apartment in Madrid, his temperamental daughter Cuca has an incident with his next door neighbor, Elsa, an elderly and feisty Argentinean. Later Fred and Elsa meet, and Elsa seduces Fred with her outrageous behavior and upbeat view of life. [In Spanish, with English subtitles]

Marathon Woman (4 min) Directed by Kat Keene Hogue — USA

An inspiring documentary short about Margaret Hagerty of Concord, NC, who, at 85 years old, has completed her 80th marathon.

Mabel's Saga (15 min) Directed by JoDee Samuelson — Canada

Meet Mabel — mother, career woman, and now, family caregiver. Her life simply has no space for another challenge — especially not raging hot flashes. After her doctor hints she is ‘over the hill,’ Mabel is off on a hilarious, one–woman quest to find a ‘cure’ for aging. This award–winning film offers a reassuring and empowering look at one of the most important passages in a woman's life.

Hats Off (83 min) Directed by Jyll Johnstone — USA

There are not too many people of any age who can fit the profile of 93–year–old actress Mimi Weddell. From grueling 14–hour days at cattle call auditions to her weekly gymnastics and dance workouts, the beautiful and eccentric Mimi Weddell exudes a can–do, will–do attitude in the face of life's trials and tribulations.

Gotta Dance (94 min) Directed by Dori Berinstein — USA

Gotta Dance captures the adventures of the first-ever senior citizen hip hop dance team for the New Jersey Nets Basketball Team, from auditions through to center court stardom. As smooth dance moves are perfected and performed in front of thousands, aging myths and misperceptions are pulverized.

Nine Good Teeth (80 min) Directed by Alex Halpern — USA

When Brooklyn–born, Sicilian–American matriarch "Nana" was young, a gypsy prophesied that she'd only live to be 96 years old. With that ominous birthday looming near, director Alex Halpern set out to document the wondrously full life of his now 105–year–old grandmother, a fiercely independent spitfire with an endless supply of hilariously homespun wisdom. Dreamily unfolding through Nana's stories, recollections, and interviews with her family — some loving, some rivalrous — "Nine Good Teeth" reveals many of the common truths hidden away in all our families, as well as the unexpected: late night visits from Beat poet Jack Kerouac, illicit love affairs, and even the occasional murder.

203 Days (26 min) Directed by Bailey Barash — USA

203 Days is a half–hour documentary about one family facing the death of the matriarch. It depicts the family dynamics at work when Sarah, the terminally ill mother comes to live with Kaye, her daughter. Even with the help of hospice both Sarah and Kaye are faced with the stress of family conflicts and daily decisions about pain management, mobility, outside assistance and medical crises.

The Self-Made Man (60 min) Directed by Susan Stern — USA

Is it ever rational to choose death? Bob Stern, a 77–year–old solar energy pioneer, finds out he is seriously ill — possibly dying. Meanwhile, an elderly in–law is slowly declining on artificial life support in a hospital. Bob decides to cheat that fate and take his own life. His family tries to stop him. Bob sets up a video camera. Daughter Susan Stern (Barbie Nation) tells the story of her father's quirky, inspiring life and the difficult end–of–life choices faced by an aging population.

The Wednesdays (13 min) Directed by Conor Ferguson — Ireland

A delightfully amusing short story from Ireland about an elderly couple who find an unlikely way to inject some zing back into their marriage.

The Sandwich Generation (28 min) Directed by Julie Winokur — USA

In this emotionally–charged account of family caregiving, filmmaker Julie Winokur and her husband, photojournalist Ed Kashi, expose their personal lives with unflinching candor. Winokur and Kashi uprooted their two children and their business in order to move 3,000 miles cross–country to care for Winokur's father, Herbie.

Do Not Go Gently (56 min) Directed by Melissa Godoy — USA

Do Not Go Gently celebrates the lives, work and wisdom of three remarkable artists (follows 82–year–old quilter Arlonzia Pettway, 90–year–old ballet dancer Frederic Franklin and 109–year–old composer Leo Ornstein) who have maintained their creative productivity well into their golden years. Their stories illustrate the role of creativity and art in contributing to a long, happy, healthy and vibrant life.

Rue du Retrait (Street of Seclusion) (90 min) Directed by Rene Feret — France

This poetic feature film is based on a Doris Lessing story, Diary of the Good Neighbor. With great clarity, the filmmaker presents a difficult, but not unusual situation: the sad and lonely life of a frail old woman with very limited means, living in a shabby apartment. Yet when a successful and attractive forty–something businesswoman encounters the old woman, at first appalled by her situation, and then enters her world, the result is a poignant relationship between two very different people. An important film that deals with the very timely issues of caregiving, responsibility, and aloneness.

88 Years in the Closet (28 min) Directed by Peter Shafron — USA

At age 88, Lorraine Barr, a lesbian, finally comes out of the closet.

Girl Inside (70 min) Directed by Maya Gallu — USA

Following 26–year–old Madison during a crucial three years of her transition from male to female, the documentary tracks her emotional, intellectual and spiritual journey of self–discovery that is as important as — if not more than — the physical journey of hormones and surgery. Sharing the spotlight is Vivien, Madison's glamorous 80–year–old grandmother, who has taken on the job of advising her on all things feminine.

Pieces of My Wife Directed by Frederic Pelle — France

This short film shows how one man deals with grief in an unusual way. [In French, with English subtitles]

The Art of Aging (L'Art de Vieillir) (75 min) Directed by Jean Luc Raynaud — France

Two men and two women, from 77 to 90 years of age, are described in the filmmaker's documentary as "living in both a state of horror and wonder, like tightrope walkers on a high wire of time." The four characters speak frankly, and with great eloquence, of the ‘freedom’ and ‘unexpected fullness’ of aging and old age, without denying the difficulties, both physical and emotional. [In French, with English subtitles]

El Bolero (12 min) Directed by Rob DelGaudio — Mexico/USA

El Bolero is a short, romantic film that is largely about reclaiming life, as seen across the chasm of a widower's lonely existence. It is a simple story which tries to introduce a modicum of magic into the ordinary, set in the caldron of chaos that is Mexico City. [In Spanish, with English subtitles]

The Crow (9 min) Directed by Frederic Pelle — France

A crow comes and disturbs a retired couple in their everyday life. [In French, with English subtitles]

Paradise (58 min) Directed by Jerzy Sladkowski — Sweden

"A marriage that survives wallpapering can survive anything." — according to a Northern Swedish proverb. Hans and Kerstin Stralström a couple who are both eighty–three years old, put their 60–year long marriage on the rocks when they set out to wallpaper their cottage together in Pojkjärvi outside Kiruna in the north of Sweden. [In Swedish, with English subtitles]