A movie-and-discussion event in East Haven on Tuesday, June 7, is geared toward educating the community about dementia.
The movie, which will be shown at 2 p.m., is “His Neighbor Phil” and stars Daniel Roebuck (“Matlock”) as a man whose wife (Stephanie Zimbalist, “Remington Steele”) has early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her diagnosis affects her family, but also the whole community, and the film focuses on the caregivers.
“We wanted the film to be a true telling of what families go through when Alzheimer’s or other dementia symptoms become part of their life,” the film’s writer and director Scott Thompson wrote in a statement. “But even more than that, we wanted to show the truth that love outlasts even the worst realities of life, including Alzheimer’s disease and that it is love which sustains them when everything else seems to be gone.”
After the screening, a panel discussion will be held to spread the word about where to go for help when a loved one has dementia. The panel is made up of Gordon Wall of Synergy HomeCare of East Haven, Bernadette DiGiulian of Elder Caring, L.L.C,, Cherie Larson-Strucaly of the Agency on Aging of South Central CT and Maria Tomasetti of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Admission is free to the event, which is at Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St. If the parking lot is full, visitors can park in the town hall parking lot across the street. To register: 203-468-3890.
