Optics of Aging: Beyond the Number

Welcome to the crowdfunding campaign for Optics of Aging: Beyond the Number!

a feature-length documentary in post-production that brings to life audacious wisdom in aging.

In this feature documentary, you will meet five fiery, passionate, high-spirited and hilarious elders who have shaped the character of Rhode Island and beyond.

Status:

Our trailer is complete and fundraising is in full swing to complete the film. We are so deeply grateful for all of the support so far! Thank you!

The funds raised to date are allowing us to head back into the editing bay soon as well as get started with some archival research. The talented Becca Bender is now onboard as our Archival Producer and Ryan Bliss will be our editor. Welcome, Becca & Ryan!

(Please scroll down to see their bios.)

When the film is complete, we then turn our attention to distribution, community screenings, outreach, panels, and more!

Please help us get to the finish line for a film that will inspire and have a wide impact on the conversation of ageism!

Your donation will help pay for:

• Editor

• Archival Producer

• Composer

• Sound Mixing

• Color Grading and Correction

• Archival image licensing

• Graphics

• Insurance

Meet Our Elders:

Linda Miller (90 years old at time of filming in 2019), the woman behind Lippitt Hill Tutorial, later renamed Inspiring Minds, alleviated the stressors of the 1960’s desegregation in Providence schools and delivered significant improvements in students’ academic performance. Linda grew up in a family of privilege that also taught her to give back to others. These values have guided her life from education reformer to psychotherapist, which she is still doing today. Her wisdom about aging shines through her ever-present humor.

Aly Stallman (90 when he died in 2019) entrepreneur and Ironman triathlete in his 50s, who completed 27 marathons, also Founder and President of the Ocean State Marathon in Newport, RI. His courage inspired all who shared his fifteen-year struggle with brain cancer. Linda and Aly have known each other all of their adult lives but only in their 90s did the stars align for them to come together to care for each other.

Mildred Nichols (90 years old at time of filming in 2019), beloved community leader, was a founding member of the Women’s Political Caucus, served on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, and was Director of Career Counseling Services at the Rhode Island Department of Education, where she was instrumental in providing outreach to women known as "displaced" homemakers. Mildred is also a descendant of Joseph Trammel. She shares with us his freedom papers and her moving gratitude.

Morris Nathanson (95 years old when he died in 2022) co-designed De Pasquale Square in Providence, the first Dunkin’ Donuts, and was one of the founding designers for Trinity Repertory Theater. He has shaped the sights and sounds of Providence and abroad through his landmark architectural restaurant designs. The warmth of community growing up in Pawtucket has shaped his whole life.

Phil West (77 years old at time of filming in 2019) long-time state director of Common Cause and author of Secrets and Scandals: Reforming Rhode Island 1986-2006. The Providence Journal dubbed him “the godfather of political reform in Rhode Island.” Key to his pursuit of ethical government over the decades was establishing a Separation of Powers amendment in the Rhode Island Constitution. Phil’s quiet passion for justice resonates deeply.

While certain physical limitations are real as we age, some faculties strengthen and many people report the older years as being the happiest years of their lives. We hear that in the words of these elders. Through their voices, stereotypes about older adults dissolve as we discover humor, moxie, and lives tenaciously and beautifully lived.

Why This Film Matters:

Ageism seems to be the only “ism” that is still OK to have. Elders often speak of feeling invisible and worthless in our society. Stereotypes of old age can diminish elders’ ability to see themselves in a rich and unique elderhood. Those doing the stereotyping are also diminished as they shut themselves off from any vision of a rich and satisfying elderhood. We are all aging and these stories are vital to our own rich and wise aging.

These five elders’ voices take flight against the backdrop of archival imagery that captures the vision of an earlier time in Rhode Island when the state confronted challenges that required creative solutions. The ideas of these forward thinkers changed lives and shaped legends and legacy during times of vast sociocultural change. Through these stories, our community remembers its past to inform a future that maintains the unique character of Rhode Island.

By supporting Optics of Aging: Beyond the Number, you become an integral member of a movement that challenges ageism and celebrates the rich tapestry of human experience.

Impact:

Optics of Aging: Beyond the Number will raise awareness and challenge stereotypes around aging. Our hope is that these stories also inspire and empower older adults to live their passions and challenge age-related stereotyping.

Please join us in honoring these five elders and the colorful city they helped shape. Two of the five have passed on in the last few years creating an urgency for this film to be finished.

Distribution and Promotion:

As I have done in the past, once the film is complete, we will seek to reach a wide audience through online platforms, community screenings and broadcasts. My first film, Death: A Love Story enjoyed seven different distribution outlets and is used in over 500 universities in the U.S. and Canada.

Meet Our Team:

Michelle Le Brun

Director/Producer

The national award-winning documentary Death: A Love Story, marked Michelle’s debut as a filmmaker having directed, produced, written and photographed the film. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, won top awards at several other film festivals, and aired on national PBS and CBC Canada. An analysis of the film was featured at Sundance (2000), by John Anderson, History in Documentaries (2005), by Alan Rosenthal (China edition), and Documentary Media (2009), by Broderick Fox. Death: A Love Story is currently used in classrooms in more than 500 universities, colleges and libraries in the US and Canada. Michelle has taught film production and film studies at the University of Rhode Island for 15 years and has made several short films which can be found on her Vimeo channel: Vimeo.com/harkenprods

Ryan Bliss

Editor

Ryan Bliss has been editing professionally for 12 years, in every area from corporate and academic, to music videos, short films and feature films. When he is not editing, he is writing, with numerous films in development. He is also the editor, writer and director of Alice Fades Away, a 2021 crime thriller. His keen eye for all facets of storytelling makes him an exemplary editor with years of knowledge and expertise in Post-Production.

Milana Jewels Cepeda

Composer

Milana Jewels Cepeda is a music composer whose focus is composing for films and video games as well as personal works. Cepeda's style revolves around the importance of storytelling through intricate motives and rhythms, which form a personal connection with the listener. She has composed a variety of music and has most recently directed and composed music for an animated short film funded by the URI Arts and Sciences Fellows program, which explores how her music combined with the animation impacts the audience psychologically and emotionally.

Becca Bender

Archival Producer

Becca Bender is a curator and archivist of audiovisual materials, as well as an archival producer for documentaries. She approaches archiving with a deep commitment to centering access and engaging collaboratively with the communities represented in the archival materials. Prior to earning a master’s degree from NYU’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program, Becca worked as an archival producer on documentaries such as the Emmy-nominated Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise and Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.

Your contribution will not only help us create a captivating documentary but also contribute to fostering a more inclusive and compassionate society. Please help us reach the finish line! And if you can’t contribute monetarily, please help us create a ripple effect by sharing this campaign in social media, with friends, family and colleagues!

Thank you!!!!!!

Michelle Le Brun,

Producer/Director/Cinematographer

Optics of Aging: Beyond the Number