For 15 days in June 2023, camera and lighting crews, make-up artists and wardrobe supervisors, and directors and actors embedded themselves at Villa Gardens, a LeadingAge member in Pasadena, CA. The life plan community’s campus buzzed with newfound energy generated by its temporary transformation into a movie studio.

As the setting of “Familiar Touch,” described as “a coming of old age film” by writer, director, and producer Sarah Friedland, the Front Porch community and many of its residents played vital roles in telling the story of Ruth, an 80-something woman who is new to assisted living memory-care community “Bella Vista.” Portrayed by veteran actor Kathleen Chalfant, we follow Ruth as she adapts to a new and difficult chapter of her life.

Chalfant and Joahn Webb are the only professional actors portraying residents in “Familiar Touch,” which is now in theaters nationwide. And of the movie’s staff members, only five are professionals; most of the on-screen characters are played by Villa Gardens residents and staff. Community members also participated as set designers and casting directors.

The film’s creation, says Villa Gardens Executive Director Shaun Rushforth, was a true collaboration between residents and the movie professionals. “Yes, Sarah wrote the movie, but if you talk to the residents, they call it ‘our film.’ It’s not “Familiar Touch.” It’s ‘our film.’ It’s that level of pride,” he says.

But for Rushforth, getting to “yes” took some convincing. Skeptical about hosting movie-making in the community, he said “no” four times before he was satisfied that the process and the product would be a good experience for everyone affected.

“I wanted to be sure it was aligned with our values and how we see ourselves,” Rushforth said, describing the negotiations that led him to change his mind. “I expressed my concerns, and we would separate, as I would go to think about it and talk to my team. And she was going back to her team with my reservations and demands.” For instance, Villa Gardens required that all of the crew on the film have background checks, like all Front Porch staff, and that the filming would be limited to only 8 to 10 hours per day. “Also, if this were to happen,” Rushforth added, “the only way we could do it is by … acknowledging that not everybody wants this in their home, so how are we going to minimize it?”

Friedland showed flexibility and transparency, Rushforth said, and made it clear that her vision included celebrating care workers and combating ageist stereotypes—an attitude drawn from her own experience as a care worker.

Getting his OK was not Friedland’s only challenge, says Rushforth. He also told her: “‘You’re going to have to win over our residents.’”

Not Just Buy-In, Ownership

Jean Owen, then president of the residents’ association, who Rushforth calls “a natural leader,” was a key figure in bringing other residents on board, talking with Friedland about the need for respect for the portrayal of residents and their home. “Jean and other voices like hers bought into this vision,” said Rushforth, “and said, ‘We have to do this.’”

The next step before shooting raised resident enthusiasm for the project. For those residents who wanted to help with the film (about 45 in all), Friedland’s staff came to Villa Gardens and gave five weeks of workshops covering the nuts and bolts of movie making: editing, cinematography, set design, sound, casting, and more, encouraging residents to be involved. See this amusing Instagram post featuring residents announcing their parts in the production.

Some residents helped with set design; because the filmmakers needed to be assured of the copyrights on any artwork appearing in the film, many of the community’s existing pieces had to be removed. Resident Lisa Tanahashi compiled a list of artists at the community and visited each one with the production designer to get permission to add their original art to the sets.

Owen and fellow resident Sara Lippincott took on the task of casting independent living residents, in two groups: those who would portray memory care residents, and those who would portray independent living or assisted living residents. Owen was also a supporting character in the cast.

A Sensitive Portrayal of Staff

The portrayal of staff as caring professionals, building strong relationships with residents, is a value that Friedland brought to the film, said Rushforth. Friedland described her approach in a moving episode of the willGather podcast: “I think care work, particularly the people whose jobs and lives are dedicated to caring for older adults and people with disabilities … is often invisibilized in our cinema. Care work is the work that makes all other work and life possible. And so as much as the film is really rooted in a character study of Ruth, I also wanted it to honor the relationships between caregivers and older adults, and show the nuance and skill of care workers’ jobs.”

There are, said Rushforth, a few “teachable moments” in the film “that make us cringe a little bit. They’re minor things, like somebody saying, ‘Sweetie’ to a resident, that we don’t love. But [they are] always followed up with a moment of seeing Ruth as an individual, and that the care workers see her as an individual and provide individualized care for her. That is such a powerful message in this film. And those moments that make us a little uncomfortable? I think those are good too.”

“Familiar Touch” is in theaters now. At its world premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, Friedland won the Orizzonti section’s Best Director award, while the film received the Luigi de Laurentis Lion of the Future award for best debut feature.

The 2025 LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston, MA, will feature a screening of “Familiar Touch” and a post-film discussion with the filmmakers and cast on Sunday, November 2, from 9:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. ET.

Photo, courtesy of Front Porch: A Q&A at an April 2025 screening of Familiar Touch; left to right, Sean Kelly, Front Porch CEO (standing below); Kari Olson, chief innovation and technology officer; Sarah Friedland, film director; lead actor Kathleen Chalfant; Villa Gardens resident Jean Owen; caregiver Magali Galvez; and Shaun Rushforth, executive director.

Do you have a story of innovation to tell? Use the LeadingAge Story Collector, powered by Greystone, to tell us your best new practices in operations, technology, workforce development, service delivery, partnerships, and more. Try it now.