First and foremost people

For Melbourne film maker Corinne Maunder, producing her latest work has been a labour of love.

Ms Maunder’s devotion to her grandmother, who has been living with dementia for 15 years, inspired her to tell the remarkable story of the international photographic exhibition, Love, Loss and Laughter: Seeing Dementia Differently.

“While the exhibition was in Melbourne I was presented with an ideal opportunity to create a meaningful piece about dementia,” Ms Maunder says.

Her film has been selected as a finalist in the inaugural Reel Health International Health Short Film Festival and will be screened publicly for the first time tonight at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Melbourne.

“While making the film I learnt that even though dementia is a condition that people live with, it doesn’t mean a person should be isolated from the everyday activities that they can still enjoy in so many ways.

“The project made me appreciate even more, the time that I have with my grandmother and my mother and aunt’s unswerving dedication as carers.”

Almost 100 photographs of people living with dementia are included in the exhibition. The images offer a unique, compassionate and positive portrayal of people living with dementia.

The documentary explores the messages behind the photos that are on a six month tour around Australia.

American sociologist and social photographer, Cathy Greenblat, took the photographs in the United States,  France, India, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Monaco and more recently, in Australia.

The exhibition has already touched the hearts of thousands of people as it has travelled throughout the America, Asia and Europe. A book of the same title was published in 2012 by Globe Pequot Press, USA.

 “I am thrilled with the film. Corinne has captured the essence of what I am trying to convey through the exhibit and the book – fostering awareness and reducing the stigma,” Ms Greenblat said.

“The person that is your mother, your wife, your brother or somebody, is still there. They just may not be able to show us that in the same way. They may not later remember the details of an activity but through their mood and behaviour we can often observe  they are aware that they have had a joyous experience. I like to teach this through my photos.

“The photographs illustrate that people with dementia continue to have needs around social interaction and engagement in much the same way as everybody else,” Ms Greenblat explained.

“This film will help to share the message globally that people with dementia remain, first and foremost, human beings and should not be defined by their condition,” Ita Buttrose, Alzheimer’s Australia National President and 2013 Australian of the Year, says.

View Corinne Maunder’s film. For more information about the exhibition in Australia visit www.exhibition.fightdementia.org.au