PMA Films: Familiar Touch

Name: PMA Films: Familiar Touch
Start: 2025-08-21T18:00:00-04:00
Location: Portland Museum of Art

Schedule

Thu, 21 Aug, 2025 at 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Portland Museum of Art | Portland, ME

If you are able, please join us for a free Third Thursday screening of this film on August 21 at 6 p.m., which will be followed by a discussion with representatives from Alzheimer’s Association and MaineHealth.
Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong. As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.