Familiar Touch
Ruth Goldman (Broadway legend Kathleen Chalfant) has been living with dementia for some time, and the time has come to place her in an assisted living facility. But while this may seem like the end, for her it represents something like a new beginning in this poignant, Venice Film Festival-winning drama.
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Sunday, May 18, 2025
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- Matinee
Sunday, May 25, 2025
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- Matinee
An octogenarian struggles to adapt after moving from her home to an assisted living facility in this tender and nuanced look at dementia. First-time director Sarah Friedland worked with actual retirement community residents to craft the story of a warm but headstrong former chef, Ruth (Tony nominee Kathleen Chalfant), as she enters this confusing new stage. At turns lucid and foggy, accepting and rebellious, present and distant, Ruth barrels through the tumultuous readjustment as if coming of age. The film eschews melodrama for closely observed minutiae that make up the new realities of Ruth’s life. The result is an empathetic observation of the whiplash that comes with cognitive decline. Although Ruth must make certain concessions to the changing nature of her life, she never gives up her agency, remaining steadfastly herself even as she becomes unmoored in time. Personal and universal, Familiar Touch is ultimately a masterful examination of the grace required to face the uncertainty of our own denouement. Winner of Best Actress at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and the Someone to Watch Award at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
—Betsy Cass
- Director: Sarah Friedland
- Principal Cast: Kathleen Chalfant, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, H. Jon Benjamin
- Country: USA
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 91 min.
- Producer: Matthew Thurm, Alexandra Byer, Sarah Friedland
- Screenplay: Sarah Friedland
- Cinematographers: Gabe C. Elder
- Editors: Aacharee “Ohm” Ungsriwong
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Venice International Film Festival 2024 (Best Debut Feature, Best Director, Actress: Horizons), Independent Spirit Awards 2025 (Someone to Watch Award)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: English
- Format: DCP
- US Distributor: Music Box
- International Sales: Memento (Paradise City Sales)