A touching documentary about a preschool that is located inside a nursing home in Seattle, Washington shows what the very young can offer the very old.
Exploring the experience of aging in America – both growing up and growing old – filmmaker Evan Briggs spent a year creating ‘Present Perfect‘, which was filmed at Providence Mount St. Vincent, a retirement home to 400, and host to an innovative preschool programme called The Intergenerational Learning Center.
The children and residents come together five days a week to spend time participating in a variety of planned activities such as reading, dancing and art.
According to a trailer for the documentary, “43 per cent of older adults experience social isolation, which is closely correlated with loneliness depression, as well as mental and physical decline. The number of adults aged 65 and older is expected to double within the next 25 years.”
Evan told ABC News that the nursing home residents did a complete transformation in the presence of the children. She said, “Moments before the kids came in, sometimes the people seemed half alive, sometimes asleep. It was a depressing scene. As soon as the kids walked in for art or music or making sandwiches for the homeless or whatever the project that day was, the residents came alive.”
Make sure you have the tissues ready before watching the trailer for the film, below.
