Dying to Know Movie Competition Explores Our Collective Loss of life Literacy

For those who needed to do it another time, would you do issues in another way? Do you’ve a variety of time left? Will you be remembered after you are gone? These seemingly darkish, unanswerable questions that folks are likely to keep away from are the elemental queries behind demise literacy that Caren Martineau is tackling with the Dying to Know Movie Competition, August 11-27 on the Rosendale Theater and the Greenville Drive-In.  

Loss of life literacy is a distinct segment topic, not explored by many because of the stigmas and taboo surrounding mortality, however it’s one thing that Martineau believes all of us want. “Literacy is a crucial commodity,” she says. “We market it in all different types, and demise literacy must be a important and anticipated type of communication.” Via her movie competition, Martineau has been capable of convene teams that wish to talk about mortality in an open setting. 

Martineau began the Dying to Know movie competition, a demise literacy consciousness marketing campaign, in 2017 after realizing—as a Boomer—that the tip is one thing all of us want to speak about. At its inception, she was struck with the issue of the state of affairs. “It has been a gradual studying curve,” says Martineau. “How do you talk about one thing so delicate? The individuals round me urged me to not go there, however I felt compelled to do it it doesn’t matter what.” So she began the movie competition, promoting out her first screening.

Then the pandemic hit, making us all extra conscious of our mortality. Martineau was capable of see the shift, noticing that folks had been starting to know their very own impermanence, and figured they’d be prepared to speak—they usually had been. Zoom performances of one-act performs adopted by breakout classes to debate matters surrounding demise reached over 100 members, exhibiting the general public readiness to talk on the subject. Now, within the mission’s fifth yr, the competition and post-film Q&As will happen all through August.

The competition is host to quite a lot of totally different productions, from documentaries and animated shorts to characteristic movies. Every screening is adopted by a gaggle Q&A with subject specialists, docs, and psychologists, offering attendees with an open house to speak about mortality. Some visitor audio system embrace Helen Whitney, Oscar-nominated filmmaker; Christine Herbes-Sommers, cofounder of Important Photos; and Matthew Kochmann, expertise entrepreneur and founding father of Transcend, a nature and demise consciousness marketing campaign. 

There might be three units of performances, all going down this August, as a part of the Celebrating Ageing Collection Manufacturing. Opening weekend, August 11 to 13, will comprise eight screenings and be cohosted by famous gerontologist Mario Garrett. Some opening weekend movies embrace Defining Hope, a nurse-perspective documentary exploring the need of hope in healthcare settings, particularly concerning end-of-life care. Plan 75 is a dystopian movie following three people deciding whether or not or to not settle for a deliberate demise for cash. Final Flight House is an intimate documentary following the filmmaker’s father in his final weeks, exiting on his personal phrases.

On the weekend of August 18, there might be a exhibiting of classics on the Greenville Drive-In. Up, Harold & Maude, and Departures are on the docket for this weekend, exploring demise with movies that folks know and love. The competition might be returning to the Rosendale Theatre on August 26 and 27 to debate time, legacy, cultures, and rituals with a screening of Two Gods, a poignant documentary following a Muslim funeral director and providing a glimpse into Muslim burial practices and the struggles of city youth.

The Dying to Know Movie Competition just isn’t meant to deal with demise; the purpose is to deal with demise literacy, conversations, and elevated consciousness behind mortality. Since beginning this system, Martineau has felt a few of the reduction herself. “When you air this out and put it on the desk, life will get a lot brighter,” she says. “You be taught to really admire moments and never sweat the small stuff, gaining extra compassion that you could be not have had earlier than.”