The powerful documentary Caregiving premieres on 330 PBS stations on June 24 (check local listings); streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App.
The two-hour documentary is centered on six personal experiences of caregivers providing for loved ones, and the challenges and triumph they face each day. These stories are interwoven with the broader context of the cultural and economic conditions in the U.S., leading to a care system tipping into crisis.
According to recent studies, it is estimated that between 53 million to 105.6 million U.S. adults provide unpaid caregiving for ill, aging, or disabled family members and friends. In addition, an estimated 5.4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. are direct caregivers.
Two-time Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker Chris Durrance is the Director and Senior Producer of Caregiving. The owner of Seven One Eight Studios joined WBGO's Doug Doyle to talk about the emotional doc.
"It's almost empowerment. It's almost giving people permission to share their stories, giving people to say yes I am a caregiver. Many people when they look back on that experience, it turns out that it's the most important thing they feel they've ever done in their lives. It is important work. It is important work. We want to take caregiving out of the shadows and encourage people to share their stories and realize they're not alone. Beyond that, start coming together to inspire change."
Caregiving is Durrance's third health-related doc. He is also currently working on a project dealing with dementia. How did this film change him personally?
"I have to say it's the most meaningful project I've ever worked on. I've made many films, but this one has really affected me. We've spent so much time with families who are generally unseen by the wider world. I felt this great responsibility when doing this story."
Chris has assembled quite a team to do this projec. The Executive Producer is Academy Award-nominated actor and filmmaker Bradley Cooper and award-winning actress Uzo Aduba narrates Caregiving.
Durrance and his team are inviting the public to join the conversation by sharing their own caregiving experiences on social media using #ShareYourCaregivingStory, or by contributing to the “We Are Well Beings Storywall” at WellBeings.org.
Caregiving is a production of Cooper's production company, Lea Pictures, and public media station WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Ark Media.
You can SEE Doug's conversation with Chris Durrance below:
Doug Doyle will also moderate a live panel discussion/screening of Caregiving at 6pm on Wednesday, June 18 at Express Newark.
Wednesday, Jun 18 at 6pmExpress Newark54 Halsey St., Newark, NJ 07102
Join us for a free preview of the PBS documentary Caregiving, which will premiere on PBS on June 24. Caregiving tells the story of paid and unpaid caregivers navigating the challenges and joys of this deeply meaningful work. Intertwining intimate personal stories with the untold history of caregiving, the documentary reveals the state and the stakes of care in America today.
The film is executive produced by Bradley Cooper, narrated by Uzo Aduba (The Residence, Orange is the New Black) and directed by Chris Durrance.The screening will be followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion with the film’s director, Chris Durrance; Mary Martha Ford, sister of Billy Porter who cared for their mother Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford; Crystal McDonald, Senior Associate State Director of Advocacy at AARP; Lauren Snedeker, Director of the Aging and Health Certificate Program at Rutgers School of Social Work, and others with local and national insights into the state of caregiving in our communities.
The program will be moderated by WBGO’s Doug Doyle.
Snacks will be served.This event is presented by WETA-TV and WBGO Newark Public Radio, in partnership with Express Newark’s Community Media Center.
