Maintaining One’s Identity in the Face of a New Life in. “Familiar Touch”
September 2025 – We first meet Ruth, the protagonist of “Familiar Touch”, as she’s preparing lunch for an upcoming guest – a man she believes to be her “date”. As she moves around her cozy, inviting kitchen, small and puzzling errors puncture the surety of her preparations. When a younger man arrives, Ruth flirts with him, not realizing that he is her son, Steve. And Steve has come to move his mother into an assisted living facility for people with dementia.
Such is the narrative of the empathetic film, “Familiar Touch”, director Sarah Friedland’s debut feature, which Rivertown Film will be presenting at The Nyack Center (South Broadway at Depew Avenue, entrance on South Broadway) on Wednesday, October 8th. Ruth’s move to her new “home” provokes a sad, funny and confusing process of adaptation that never sensationalizes Ruth’s tribulations. The film, a character study – in which lead actress Kathleen Chalfant performs alongside actual residents of an assisted-living facility – is a series of naturalistic vignettes. We watch as Ruth – former chef – takes charge of the facilities’ kitchen to prepare breakfast, and as she interacts amusingly with her doctor during their weekly medical exercises. As Ruth acclimates to her “new normal”, the story gestures to the larger context: the guilt of the patient’s children, the fraught, lovely bonds between the residents and their caretakers.
What makes this film a stand out is that it’s less about the agonies of change than about the concessions that we make to feel closer to our loved ones and ourselves. The film won “Best Director”, “Best Actress” and “Best Film” at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
There will be a post screening discussion with Dr. Marc Rothman, CEO and Founder of Lizzy Care, whose mission is to make dementia care easier, more human, and truly supportive for families, caregivers, and the people they love. The Community Partner is Creative Aging in Nyack.
The film begins at 8pm and doors open at 7:30pm. Tickets are $13/General
Admission, $11/Students & Seniors, and $9/Rivertown Film Members More information can be found at rivertownfilm.org.
Rivertown Film is a non-profit organization which was founded in 2001. Their mission is
devoted to celebrating, exploring and promoting the art of the motion picture through film
screenings and educational programs. The organization is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and our corporate sponsor is Elena Schloss, Happy Dwellings with Elena/Julia B. Fee, Sotheby’s International Realty.
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