The Time of Their Lives
Meet Rose, 101, the oldest newspaper columnist in the world; Hetty, 102, still marching against war; and Alison, 88, Communist Party member turned selfstyled establishment lady. Passionate, purposeful and articulate, they speak honestly from the end of life, sharing their unique perspectives in this heart-warming and inspirational film.
3/12 7:00 (BMAC) & 3/17 6:30 (Latchis)
The Time Of Their Lives 2009
Jocelyn Cammack
69 min uk doc
The Time of their Lives
The ultimate coming-of-age movie - a frank, funny and provocative documentary, exploring life before death
July Tx to be confirmed,
on BBC4 as part of the Grey Expectations season
With a combined age of almost 300, Rose, Hetty and Alison love to share their passionate concerns about everything from terrorism and global warming to sex, death and the meaning of life.
At 101, Rose was once a sex-therapist and counsellor - now she’s the oldest newspaper columnist in the world. Hetty, 102, is a veteran Stop-the-War campaigner, and she’s preparing for her 84th anti-war march. Alison, 87, is a self-styled ‘establishment lady’ who was once a reporter for the Daily Worker and a card-carrying Communist.. All three women are among the oldest residents of the Mary Feilding Guild, an unusual home for the ‘active elderly’ in North London.
But despite their powerful enthusiasm and appetite for life, Hetty, Rose and Alison are ready for death. More than this, they actively want to die. At the end of lives with passion and purpose, all three women are facing the reality of physical, sometimes mental, deterioration and its consequences for their sense of identity. Together, they bring to the screen an unflinching honesty about what it means to be very old.
Director Jocelyn Cammack knew she wanted to make this film from the moment she met Hetty. ‘She talked to me for three hours about the passions of her life - her husband, her work, her campaigning for peace. And the energy that came from her at the age 101, that incredible force field, I could just feel it. It is so powerful and compelling and I hope that’s what comes over in the film.’
The Time of Their Lives was commissioned by Nick Fraser and Jo Lapping for the BBC as part of Storyville. For Nick Fraser, “It's an original film because it deals with the feeling of being old – what you know about life and can tell, what you have to endure each day. So much is talked about dignity and dying – the film shows that it's possible but difficult. And what does it tell us? As Rose says: "Everything’s a mystery, and love is the greatest mystery of all.’ I agree.”
The film premiered at the Sheffield DocFest and has screened in London, Paris, Austin, Belfast and Belgrade, with festival dates at Stranger Than Fiction in Dublin and SilverDocs in Washington in June 2009.
The Time of Their Lives is a co-production between triple BAFTA award winning independent Redbird, and Certain Pictures for BBC Storyville, with support from the UK Film Council.
Director: Jocelyn Cammack. Duration: 60 minutes
interview with Jocelyn:
http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/news/2009/02/16/rachel-chats-to-jocelyn-cammack-director-of-the-time-of-their-lives/
For more information, contact:
Hilary Durman Producer, The Time of their Lives
Redbird Films on +44 (0)1962 855522 or on +44 (0)7710 449377
Information, stills and clips are also available from
www.timeoftheirlives.com
