Remember?

About the writing process:

‘Remember?’ (2023) is based on a true story. Back in April 2022, I saw a video on a social media from an influencer addressing her grandparents’ story: both suffering from Alzheimer’s, they had forgotten about their divorce and now appreciate each other’s company. I thought to myself that their story could make a really good film and then started thinking about developing a narrative.

However, I knew that it would be essential for me to contact the influencer as to know if she would accept for me to get my inspiration from her grandparents’ story. Sending Reagan Yorke an email felt like throwing a bottle at sea, but even though I didn’t expect much, I knew I had nothing to lose. In the end, Reagan Yorke did reply to my email and we had one of the most inspiring call I could possibly get as a primary research for my graduation film.

Alzheimer’s is not a topic I was familiar to and I knew from the start that writing a film about it would obviously imply for me to make heavy researches as to better understand the way people deal with it.

I laid-back learning about the illness through fiction films. Indeed, when it comes to the depiction of Alzheimer’s in film, I was surprise to realize how filmmaking often fails at portraying an accurate picture of the illness and therefore fails to be educative.

With ‘Remember?’ (2023), there is a will to approach Alzheimer’s on a positive aspect, to use love and humor as my main narrative device to tell about the love story of mental ill protagonists. However I did acknowledge the need to balance the depiction of both realities (the darkness of having to deal with one’s illness, and the love that remains) as my main goal was to create an accurate representation of reality. Therefore, if Alzheimer’s can be seen as a divider, in ‘Remember?’ (2023) it is also represented as a factor that reunites a family.

Moreover, I put a point of honor on humanising the parents. In fact, mental ill characters tend to be villainised when portrayed in film, which contributes to their marginalisation and stigmatization in real life. In ‘Remember?’ (2023), the parents are not victims of their condition. However on the other hand, the children and caregivers are depicted as anti-heros. This was a way for me to denounce our society’s failing at understanding Alzheimer’s. The families and caregivers are left without any real clues as how to deal with the illness. Here, the juxtaposition between the two worlds works as a mirror. The children/caregivers and patients with Alzheimer’s may have moments when they may be completely out of control of themselves and everything around them: we live in a demented world, nevertheless the only thing that makes sense is the love that remains.

‘Remember?’ (2023) will be screened in London in July 2023, stay tuned for updates!