Month: January 2016

Leaving Utah

Nothing Left Unsaid, the documentary about Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper.  That was the 10th and final film I saw last night as a part of the Sundance Film Festival.  You can catch it on the HBO Docs channel.

What a great experience this has been. I am so thankful for the people who took the time out of their schedules to learn about the Beyond Sixty Project. Unanimously positive feedback and creative suggestions are much appreciated.  Special thanks to Keri and Steve for your visit and support!

Looking forward to getting home to my family and getting started on the next phase of the Project.

Thank you for following along and remember to contact me if you know a woman with a story!

P.S. If you are a film buff I highly recommend Sundance.  Give me a holler and I can give you more details.

Melissa 

 

Newtown

Last night I experienced Kim Snyder’s documentary, Newtown. I use the word experienced over watched because of how it made me feel. 

Kim was in the audience along with some of the family members affected by this horrific tragedy.

This film was beautiful in that it did not exploit or sensationalize the people or the event. It was not about the shooter. It was not necessarily a political piece, although you could not walk away  without  thinking  more deeply about guns in our society.

This was about the aftermath of the tragedy, and the lives that the victims families and community now live.  It was powerful and thought provoking. 

Kim Snyder did an outstanding job of gaining the trust of the Newtown community and portraying their profound loss, while showing their resilience to move forward day by day. Their grief, as you can imagine, is stunning. 

I hope everyone will experience this film.  It is important. It will move you and maybe even change you a bit. 

 Melissa

#Sundance #womeninfilm #Newtown

Being Here

For as long as Sundance has been around I wanted to come and experience it.  Each year I would contemplate it but the timing was never quite right.

This year the timing could not be better and to top it off we were just ready to launch the Beyond Sixty Project website which holds the teaser for the project.

So here I am, watching movies like I have never watched them before, listening to and meeting some of the Directors and finding immediate connection with random festival goers and assorted film people when I talk about the project. These people are kind, interested and willing to to offer ideas and experiences.

Add to this the background of the beautiful Park City mountains and it makes for a wonderful experience.

More to come from this magical place. 

 

Next Stop: Sundance

Next Stop: Sundance

Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 4.07.27 PMWe are finally dug out from the massive and beautiful snow storm of 2016.  If the airport has caught up with cancelled flights and the universe is once again aligned, I will be headed to Sundance tomorrow for the remainder of the festival.

Looking forward to the ten movies I have chosen to see, the opportunity for networking The Beyond Sixty Project and getting to see a dear friend.

Stay tuned as I send updates from Park City, Utah!

Melissa

Retirement

Retirement

After two decades as a Vice President at the largest Managed Care case management company in the US, I was ready to say my good byes.  I had cleaned out drawers, bookshelves and cabinets, packed all personal belongings and filled one and a half paper shredders.  I was ready.  I was the perfect age for retirement according to US statistics and I had a Medicare card tucked into my wallet to prove it.  Although my company didn’t require retirement at any age and I never felt pressure to leave, I was checking my calendar and knew if I was ever going to do anything different now was the time.

I had a plan and had already put it in motion.  Retirement, in the defined sense, would have to wait.

As I write this first post, almost two weeks post-retirement, I am happily partnered with a talented production company and we are making a Documentary Film.   It’s on the record: I am a Documentary Filmmaker. There I’ve said it.

So this is retirement.  For me.  No sitting on a beach sipping fruity drinks or taking up golf.  Not right now, anyway.

The film project is underway and we have created the “teaser” that will be the entrée to the larger project.  What’s it about?  The Beyond Sixty Project is a series of interviews with women over the age of 60 who have incredible stories of resilience and continued relevance today.  It has been fascinating meeting with them and spending hours listening to their stories.  I hope we do them justice in the film.  So far I think we have.

I am prepped and ready for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT later this month.  I have always wanted to attend and now this will coincide with networking opportunities for my project.   Stay tuned as I blog about the happenings at Sundance and the journey of The Beyond Sixty Project.

Melissa