Michelle Memran
Name:
Michelle Memran
Job Title:
Documentary Filmmaker, Advocate and Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health
Place of work / study:
Global Brain Health Institute [1]
Area of Research:
I co-create films and projects with individuals living with various forms of dementia
How is your work funded:
Individuals, Grants, Arts and Advocacy organizations, Chance
Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a documentary filmmaker, journalist, care partner, and dementia advocate whose work threads collaborative storytelling with social change. As a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at UCSF’s Global Brain Health Institute, I am dedicated to challenging society’s reductive dementia narratives by amplifying the voices of those living with these varied conditions. My debut documentary, The Rest I Make Up, chronicles a decade-long creative collaboration and friendship with visionary playwright María Irene Fornés, who had stopped writing due to Alzheimer’s. Together, we discovered that a camera could extend Fornés’s creative process and initiate a vital new artistic practice for us both. Our film premiered at the Museum of Modern Art and was named one of “The Best Movies of 2018” by Richard Brody in The New Yorker. It continues to screen worldwide.
I am currently working on several independent documentary film projects and a dementia awareness media campaign. I also recently began a year-long artist’s residency at the UCSF Library in San Francisco, where I’ll be exploring how the visual language and community-led messaging of early HIV/AIDS activism can inspire more humanizing, solutions-based narratives around Alzheimer’s and related dementias today. I divide my time between New York and San Francisco.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
My wife and I often post humorous stories about our travels as #marriedmiddleagedlesbians
Why did you choose to work in dementia:
It happened by accident. Many years ago, I interviewed my favorite playwright, María Irene Fornés, and we became good friends. When I discovered she’d stopped writing, likely due to Alzheimer’s, I tried to find ways to continue creating. I had an old Hi-8 camera on a beach one day, and she began reciting these stunning monologues. So we kept going. I became a filmmaker and an advocate through our collaborative process, and now that’s what I do.
So in many ways, it chose me. I’m also a care partner for my mom, who is living with Alzheimer’s; recently, she’s discovered a newfound love for the poems of Rainer Maria Rilke, and today we’re filming her reading “Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower.” I just follow where my collaborators take me. It’s the best underfunded job in the world.
What single piece of of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Everything is a creative process. Collaborate. Co-create. Learn from those who are living it.
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
“AIDS and Its Metaphors [2]” by Susan Sontag — and yes!
Favourite film of all time?
First Cousin Once Removed by Alan Berliner
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
Movies! Hikes! Travel! Making ridiculous music videos with my wife!!
What’s the best decision you ever made?
To pick up a camera and trust the process.
What’s your favourite vacation spot?
I just visited Ireland for the first time and fell in love.
Do you collect anything?
Stories. Footage.
Would you like to share your playlist?
Can we find you on social media?
@memranny [3]