Deaf Conversations About Cinema: Familiar Touch

Please join us at the 18:10 screening of Familiar Touch, on Mon 22 June which will feature Descriptive Subtitles and an introduction from Nathan Hardie, fellow audience member and Bristolian film critic

Ruth Goldman (Kathleen Chalfant), an older woman with dementia, leaves her home for a date. But what she thinks is a hotel turns out to be an assisted living facility, and she must contend with an array of new faces, routines, and surroundings as her own identities and desires shift.

While Ruth resists identifying with her aging neighbours, she connects with the care workers there (Carolyn Michelle and Andy McQueen) and is drawn towards her son (H. Jon Benjamin), whom she mistakes for a suitor. A former cook, Ruth finds agency preparing meals in the facility kitchen. 

But when the reality of her situation sinks in, Ruth feels betrayed and flees the facility in search of something familiar.

Inspired by writer/director Sarah Friedland‘s work as a memory care worker and teaching artist to older adults, Familiar Touch is an intergenerational production made in collaboration with the residents and care workers at a Los Angeles retirement community.

Please join us after the screening in the Café & Bar for an informal discussion, which will include BSL interpretation.

You’ll receive 10% off drinks with your cinema ticket – so grab a glass or a mug of something and let us know your thoughts about Familiar Touch.

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