Alive Inside
Invited
While volunteering at a nursing home, social worker Dan Cohen makes an amazing discovery: Playing music for elderly people with dementia brings about powerful transformations. Just a few minutes of listening to the music they love “wakes up” Alzheimer’s patients, reconnecting them with their identities, emotions, and past lives. In Michael Rossato-Bennett’s remarkable documentary, we see the results of Cohen’s experiments firsthand, learning how a pair of headphones and an iPod can conjure up feelings of joy and memories that have been dormant for years. Interviews with neurologist Oliver Sacks, musician Bobby McFerrin, and experts on elderly care confirm this revelatory power in music, as well as the necessity of interpersonal connections. This film is a moving piece of advocacy, shedding light on how our brains function as it exposes flaws in our national health system. EM
Director
Michael Rossato-Bennett
Producers
Alex McDougald, Michael Rossato-Bennett
Editors
Mark Demolar, Michael Rossato-Bennett, Manuel Tsingaris
Cinematographer
Shachar Langlev
Release Year
2014
Festival Year
2014
Country
United States
Run Time
73 minutes