The Alzheimer’s Association’s Central and Western Virginia Chapter is bringing a four-part HBO miniseries about the disease to the area.
Cindy Bondurant, program outreach director, says their calls went up after “The Alzheimer’s Project” aired on the pay-cable network in May.
They want to host the local screenings to raise public awareness, especially about the importance of early diagnosis, and to show people that there is “hope on the horizon,” she says.
“We’re seeing a trend now (that) people aren’t just sitting on the sofa after being diagnosed. They’re keeping up with their daily lives.”
Each film explores a different facet of the disease:
-- “The Memory Loss Tapes,” is a 90-minute documentary from the point of view of a person with Alzheimer’s;
-- “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver” is geared toward children and young teens coping with a grandparent’s illness;
-- “Momentum in Science, Parts 1 & 2,” detail the explosion of knowledge in the scientific and medical communities; and
-- “Caregivers” is a collection of five family portraits that illustrate caring for those in the disease’s different stages.
The local chapter’s first event will be a special screening and discussion scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 3 at The Academy of Fine Arts' Warehouse Theatre.
The night begins with a reception, to be followed by clips from the series and a Q&A with Dr. Peter Betz from Centra and Dr. Carol Manning, director of the UVa Memory Disorders Clinic.
Individual screenings of each film will then be held at The Summit in Wyndhurst.
All screenings begin at 7 p.m., and the schedule is as follows: “Memory Loss Tapes I” Sept. 10, “Memory Loss Tapes II” Sept. 17, “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?” Sept. 24, “Momentum in Science I” Oct. 1, “Momentum in Science II” Oct. 8 and “Caregivers” Oct. 15.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement