Alzheimer's disease in the media

This article provides a list of media documents portraying Alzheimer's disease as a critical feature of the main plot:

1950

• The BBC radio soap opera The Archers (1950) has had a long-running subplot about the development of Alzheimer's in character Jack Woolley, which won a Mental Health Media Award in 2007.

1981

• Chillysmith Farm This remarkable film documents the aging and death of Gramp in the bosom of his family, so that he could live and die among the people he loved

1986

• Sonia by Paule Baillargeon

1987

• An Alzheimer's Story This documentary provides the rare opportunity of following a family with an Alzheimer's victim for two years
• The More We Get Together The More We Get Together gives insights into working with very old, disoriented, nursing home residents (Demented).
• No Place Like Home: Long Term Care For the Elderly Providing home care rather than institutionalized care is often less costly to the public and more desirable for the older person (including frail and demented).

1988

• Aging in Soviet Georgia: A Toast to Sweet Old Age An in-depth look at the culture and experience of normal aging in the area of the world often called an "epicenter of longevity."

1990

• Can't Afford to Grow Old The reality of aging is that there is no help in paying for a nurse or a housekeeper if you become disabled and need assistance

1992

• Communicating With The "Alzheimer-Type" Population The two vignettes depicted in this video show typical examples of troublesome behavior in very old people who are disoriented

1994

• Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter by Deborah Hoffmann

1996

• Forget Me Never When Diana McGowin got hopelessly lost driving home, she knew something was terribly wrong. Because she was only fifty-two, the doctors did not suspect Alzheimer's . After three years of tests they concluded she had a rare form called "early onset" which can strike victims as early as their thirties.

1997

• ABC News Primetime Alzheimer's Dogs Meet Crystal, a dog who has the job of keeping tabs on her owner who has Alzheimer's Disease. Crystal was trained by a volunteer group called Okada in 1986 to provide hearing guide dogs for the deaf but has added Alzheimer's dogs as her latest project. Airdate: April 9, 1997

1999

• Forget Me Never Canadian-American film produced in 1999
• The Caregiver by Aaron Alterra (1999, Steerforth Press) is a book written by an elderly man detailing the progression of his wife's Alzheimer's, how he cared for her and the effect it had on his life. John Bayley, the husband of Iris Murdoch, who died of the disease in 1999, wrote of this book that it was "the best and most expert book on Alzheimer's that I have read and it should be closely studied by every caregiver."

2000

• I Know A Song: A Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease This artfully made documentary shows that Alzheimer’s disease need not be the end of a loving relationship.
• The Chinese Hospice In Beijing stands the only hospital in China to specialize in allowing people approaching the end of their lives to die with dignity.

2001

• Iris is a 2001 film that tells the story of Irish novelist Iris Murdoch and her relationship with John Bayley. The film contrasts the start of their relationship and their later life, when Murdoch (played by Dame Judi Dench) was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The film is based on Bayley's memoir Elegy for Iris.
• Amanda’s Choice, This film looks at a rare form of the disease, occurring in a very small percentage of Alzheimer’s cases: Early Onset Alzheimer’s
• Se souvenir des belles choses

2002

• Stolen Memories: Alzheimer's Disease A film by Rachel Stace and Rebecca Mellor. Filmed over ten months, Stolen Memories follows three people in their fifties who have been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

2003

• Age No Problem, a film about a company based in Needham, Massachusetts, with a remarkable and very successful employment policy: it only hires elderly staff members
• De zaak Alzheimer (2003)
• Dying at Grace (2003))
• A Song for Martin
• Long Shadows: Stories from a Jewish Home This film examines the impact of institutionalizing the care of aging survivors of the Holocaust. These survivors make the traumatic transition to an old-age facility. Dementia, memory loss and physical immobility.

2004

• The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's (2004)
• A Moment to Remember, a 2004 Korean film A Moment to Remember about a young couple where the wife contracts Alzheimers.
• The Notebook An 2004 American film based on a fictional story about a woman with Alzheimer's and how her husband copes with the disease. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams star in this film adapted from Nicholas Sparks' novel.
• SONNY BOY is the story of the cross-country journey of Soleil Moon Frye, and her father, Virgil Frye, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

2005

• Grey's Anatomy' (2005) s first three seasons had a running subplot of Meredith Grey's struggle first to keep her mother's (Ellis Grey) Alzheimer's a secret, and then to cope with her mother's disease as her state worsened.
• Thanmathra (Malayalam:Molecule) (2005) is a Malayalam film directed by Blessy which portrays the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the life of an individual and his family.
• "Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company" (2005)

2006

• Memories of tomorrow (Ashita no Kioku) The 2006 Japanese film , starring Ken Watanabe, tells a story of a 49-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease and burden of care put on his wife.
• Away From Her (2006) is the Academy award nominated feature-length directorial debut of English Canadian actor Sarah Polley. The film is based on Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", from the 2001 collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. The film stars Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie as a couple whose marriage is tested when Christie's character begins to suffer from Alzheimer's and moves into a nursing home, where she loses virtually all memory of her husband and begins to develop a romance with another nursing home resident.
• Zulene: Lady in Red (2006)
• Family Matters: Coming Together for Alzheimer's
• Christine and Paul- A Journey With Alzheimer's Disease Christine, a 46-year-old mother of three, with a distinguished career in science, was diagnosed with Alzheimer¹s disease. Recently divorced from an abusive husband, the news sent her into a tailspin, and was emotionally devastating for her daughters, as well. Three years after her diagnosis, she met Paul Bryden, a former diplomat. Despite her diagnosis, they fell in love and married; two super achievers, with one embarking on an inevitable journey of decline.

2007

• Malcolm and Barbara - A Love Story (1999) TV documentaries and Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell (2007), featured Malcolm Pointon who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the age of 51. Over a period of 14 years Paul Watson followed Malcolm and Barbara Pointon's lives. The documentary follows the couple as Malcolm succumbs to the disease and shows the harsh reality faced by caregivers. The 2007 programme was the target of controversy when initial media claims that the finale purported to show Malcolm's death from the disease, but insider sources revealed that in the closing shots of the documentary actually show Malcolm slipping into a coma from which he never recovered. The argument overshadowed the importance of the documentary, and when it aired on 8 August 2007 the narrator informs us that "Malcolm is in a coma, and dies three days later."
• Away From Her Released 2007
• An ihrer Seite
• And Then There Were Four The film depicts such a situation as we see the daily life of a frail 77- year-old grandmother who is raising four grandsons aged 5-8

2008

• Terry Pratchatt Documentaries, In April 2008, the BBC began working with Terry Pratchett to make a documentary series based on his illness. The first part (of two) was broadcast on BBC Two on the 4th of February 2009.
• U, Me aur Hum (translates as: You, me and us) a 2008 Bollywood film, with Kajol Devgan playing an Alzheimer's Disease patient.
• Ruth’s Locket Alzheimer’s Short Film, Summer 2008
• Away From Her
• THE ALZHEIMER SEA Exploring the slow erosion of personality that this disease inflicts
• Choke, a 2008 film by Clark Gregg

2009

• The Alzheimer's Project films The Alzheimer’s Project consists of 4 films. The anchor of The Alzheimer’s Project series is Momentum in Science which features 25 leading scientists, a primetime state-of-the-science report revealing the most cutting-edge research advances. The three additional primetime specials (The Memory Lost Tapes; Grandpa, Will You Remember Me? With Maria Shriver; and Caregivers) capture what it means to experience the disease, to be a child or grandchild of one who suffers, and to care for those who are affected. It also includes four documentaries, 15 short films, a book, a community outreach program and a website
• Forgetful Not Forgotten
• You Are Here film
• I Remember Better When I Paint is a 2009 international documentary inspired by the story of Hilda Goldblatt Gorenstein (Hilgos) that focuses on how the creative arts can help Alzheimer's patients re-engage in life, not only through creation and performance of art and music but also from exposure to the arts around the world, such as at the Louvre museum. It also shares findings by leading neurologists offering scientific support regarding the transforming power of the arts for those with Alzheimer's. The film is narrated by Academy Award winning actress Olivia de Havilland. Featured in the documentary is Yasmin Aga Khan, president of Alzheimer Disease International and daughter of Rita Hayworth, who had Alzheimer's. The French version of the film "Je me souviens mieux quand je peins" was released in September 2009 as part of French Alzheimer Association's awareness raising activities on World Alzheimer's Day. The film is co-directed by Eric Ellena and Berna Huebner
• Alzheimer’s Disease: Facing the Facts received the 2009 Boston/New England Emmy award
• I Forgot to Tell You by Omar Sherif
• L'oeil de Verre, a film by Fréderick Compain about the work of William Utermohlen, (in Paris)
• Living With Alzheimer's
• Going Home
• Facing the Facts won a regional Emmy in May
• Is There Anybody There about a very funny and very touching relationship between an old man who was sent to an old people’s home for his final days and a young boy who is stuck there because his parents own it.
• Lick Salt A Grandson’s Tale, Ryan has been out of touch with his family, and especially his grandmother whom he hasn’t seen in fifteen years… until his grandfather’s funeral reconnects them. She is lonely though feisty, and suffering from dementia.

2010

• Schism
• Egyptian Actor Adel Imam is shooting a Comedy film entitled Alzehimer.
• Alain Delon is Shooting a film about Alzehiemer disease.
• L'Absence
• Dementia With Dignity
• Alzheimer: ¿y tu quien eres?
• Telling It Like It Is an intimate look at the life and work of American born painter William Utermohlen
• Behrooz Afkhami is Directing a film about Alzehiemer disease entitled: This is not my house.

Unknown

• Grace is a documentary that profiles the life of Grace Kirkland, beginning shortly after her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and ending at her death seven years later. The documentary tracks Grace through the progression of her symptoms and the changing role of her caregiver husband, Glenn Kirkland. This Whiteford-Hadary production was aired on American public television stations in 1991 and has received a regional Emmy Award (1992).
• The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's is an Emmy award winner. (2006?)
• My Name Is Lisa A Short Film About Alzheimer's Disease
• Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?
• Quick Brown Fox
• Tracy and Jess: Living With Early Onset Alzheimer’s
• Three Bagel Sunday is an account of life inside the Traditions Alzheimer's & Dementia Care Unit
• Understanding Alzheimer's Disease
• Diminished Capacitywith Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick
• La Boîte de Pandore
• Stuff, about men losing fathers
• Alzheimer's Disease: Inside Looking Out by Terra Nova