Forgetting Me

A worn-down wife desperately clings to the past as her husband’s dementia threatens to destroy their future.

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Length10 min.

DirectorEddy Piasentin

GenreDrama

Video

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Synopsis

Inspired by my own experience, this film tells the story of a couple's personal struggle with Alzheimer's disease. All too often the story of dementia is told from the perspective of the sufferer. It's a sympathetic story, and one that definitely has merit. But we rarely see the issue from the point of view of the caregiver. These people give so much--their time, effort, money, and sometimes their own lives--to care for a loved one. And as heroic as that sounds (and it is), it's rarely so romantic. Mostly it's a hard slog. A grind. With little to no obvious reward, and even less help. As a result, relationships fray. And the caregiver is caught between compassion and resentment. Maybe even love and hate. Holding on to a lifetime that only they remember. I want to tell this story.

The team

We are a great creative duo who have collaborated on previous projects. We're both wanting to take our filmmaking career to another level. And we want to use this as a launching pad for more ambitious narrative film work. This is our moment!

Eddy PiasentinDirector, Writer, Producer

Kelly ConlinEditor, Producer, Camera Operator

Production Design

Wardrobe choices will also play an important role in our storytelling, signaling important character elements and themes. Pasquale's wardrobe will mimic the colour and tone of his environment. He will effectively blend into the background, signifying his slow disappearance at the hand of Alzheimer's, as well as the loss of his own identity.

Light and dark will be central themes in the film. As the characters move throughout the space, and their interactions ebb and flow with varied intensities, the shifting use of light will support them and the story. We will use light to effectively move the story and the audience, guiding the audience from feelings of hope to despair.

The stairway serves as a transitional element in the film. It's where Carmella, after hearing Pasquale in the kitchen, descends down into his world to meet him in the middle of the night. Her dreamy sleep is disturbed by the accidental call of her husband, and she dutifully descends, not knowing what awaits her.

Thoughtful and effective lighting design is critical to achieving the look we're going for with the film. The first time we see Pasquale he will be lit from overhead, making him elusive from the audience. The set will have pools of mixed bright/dark light, that the characters will move through.

In keeping with the power of wardrobe to inform the story, Carmella will be wearing a red housecoat. This will provide a striking juxtaposition between the two characters, as she stands out from her environment. As well, the red colour provides a window into the inner turmoil and, at times, anger that Carmella feels about the struggles she's enduring.

This hallway is the most critical location in the film. With frames on the wall enshrining the couple's entire life in photos, to the door that pulls each of them toward an uncertain exit, it's in this hall that the climax of the film takes place. It's here, against the backdrop of their history, where the characters clash. And where they ultimately share a bittersweet moment, in an unwilling acknowledgment of a life dissolving away.

The kitchen plays an important role in the film--just as it does in many families, as the hub of activity and family life. In this location we first get to really know our two characters, and watch them interact with each other. We witness their body language, as it moves from uncertain and tender, to defensive and accusatory. And we see how the space, at first open and inviting, becomes part of the struggle as it offers barriers and separation that push the characters apart.