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Beyond the Village - A Star is Born

By Susan Kujawa
Posted: 10/17/2024

It seems to be accepted as common knowledge that our lives shrink as we get older.  Some of this is due to physical limitations that accompany old age – decreased vision and mobility, being common elements of growing older. Some of this is also due to a lack of opportunities. Older adults know too well the feeling of being over-looked when certain activities are planned.  “We’d love to have you join us, but we understand it will be too tiring for you.”  And we also build our own walls that contribute to the shrinking of our world. We are often reluctant to try something new.  How many times do we hear an older person state, “Who needs a smart phone? I do just fine with my old rotary dial!”

Pasadena Village Board President, Dick Myers, does not buy into this “small world” narrative. In 2018 Dick left his home in Texas to be closer to his son in Highland Park.  Although visually impaired with macular degeneration, Dick says that when he first moved in with his son’s family, he would take the Metro to Pasadena and “roam the streets looking for something to do.”  In 2019, when a friend told him about Pasadena Village he checked it out – and he was all in!

Over the years Dick’s visual impairment increased and he soon needed a walker to get around. The steep hills of Highland Park were not a friendly place, and so Dick moved into Villa Gardens Retirement Community.  He appreciated the friends he made at Villa Gardens, but his commitment to and involvement in Pasadena Village did not diminish.

Last year, a film director, Sarah Friedland, approached Villa Gardens with the idea of making a coming of (old) age film, that follows an octogenarian woman's transition to life in assisted living as she contends with her conflicting relationship to herself and her caregivers amidst her shifting memory, age identity, and desires.  Villa Gardens agreed and over the course of 15 days in June 2023, the facility was transformed into a film set with Villa Gardens residents and staff participating as members of the cast and crew. Read here about the Familiar Touch and Front Porch relationship.  The film that emerged, “Familiar Touch,” premiered at the Venice Film Festival Orizzonti Competition on September 3, 2024 where it won three awards, including the Luigi de Laurentiis Award for Best Debut.

As the filming progressed, Dick Myers was approached and asked to play the husband of the lead actress's best friend. "I was at one of the filmmakers’ introductory workshops, and as we were sitting around afterwards, they were saying that they needed somebody to play one of the roles, and they needed a man, and they looked at me and said, 'Can you do it?' That was my audition," he says. Dick needed to play someone with a cognitive impairment. He was asked to hum something, and he chose an Irish lullaby. "I just hummed that (with my eyes closed), and when my 'wife' came over to me I looked up and acknowledged her, and smiled, but due to my dementia I didn't say anything. That was my big moment in the film."

Dick’s participation in the film proved to be a wonderful experience. “I learned a lot, met very interesting people, and had a lot of fun.”  His experience illustrates that if you are open to new opportunities at any age, and actively engaged in a community, there is always the possibility to do more, to be more, to live more.

Pasadena Village encourages older adults to be active participants in their lives to the fullest extent possible.  Villagers create workshops and activities that build on their interests and expertise – whether that be art, music, science, walking, reading, or current events. In an atmosphere of acceptance, they are emboldened to try new things, whether that be writing poetry, leading a group, or joining a program team.  Villagers also go “beyond the Village” to volunteer at local nonprofits that support former foster youth, volunteer at the animal shelter, or teach reading to third graders. 

As a smiling Dick Myers points out, “Who would have thought I would begin a new career as a screen idol?  It just shows that it’s never too late to start something new.  Pasadena Village creates an environment for our Villagers that opens them up to new possibilities at any age. My film career will be a short one, but it is something I’ll never forget.”

“Familiar Touch” will premier at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on October 26, 2024. The film has received favorable reviews in Variety, Rotten Tomatoes, and the Hollywood Reporter, among others.