“J. Costello”
Much to my surprise, I routinely get emails asking me for favors from random people I’ve never met. Not Nigerian princes tragically unable to claim their fortune without my banking info, exactly. No, I get requests like, “You should run my blog post on your website about how eating [fill in the blank] will CURE dementia!!!!!!!!!” Crap like that.
Skimming my email, I thought I’d probably got another. This one from “filmmaker” David C. Murphy about his upcoming short “J. Costello” included a link to the trailer and chance for an advance screening. (For the record, David is legit. As is his film.)
Click HERE to watch the 8-minute film now
I loved “J. Costello” so much, I immediately contacted David for an interview.
Did I remember to record? Nah. I was too enchanted with his Scottish lilt (and it was too early in the morning) to have much in the way of wits. And honestly, it wasn’t much of an interview; I went straight-up fangirl on him.
A Personal Film
Even when I did manage to ask him a question, I was cutting him off to tell him how brilliant the film is before he could attempt an answer. In the moments when David was able to squeeze in a word, he told me this is a personal film for him and his writing partner, Liam. Both have family affected by dementia.
“Gran on my mum’s side and Gran on my dad’s side both had dementia.” David’s paternal grandfather is now living with dementia–and there are bits of him in John “Jay” Costello. “John’s joy in singing is a reflection of my Granddad’s joy in signing.”
I was impressed and amazed that an eight-minute film manages to accomplish as much as it does–especially with only 16 lines of dialogue. David hopes people will see the “comfort and escape” Jay finds as he’s engaged in his routine, and then while he’s doing something he loves.
Be Inspired To Look for The Joy
In an unexpected and refreshing twist, John McQuiston plays Jay in a way that makes my heart sing.
We almost always see people living with dementia portrayed the same way in tv and film: violently confused or pathetically pitiable. McQuiston’s Jay is neither; he’s infused with joy.
Jay is very familiar to me. He echoes hundreds upon hundreds of people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with over the years. Watch Jay in action, witness his sense of purpose, his joy, and you understand why I’m infuriated when people who haven’t a clue speak disparagingly of people living with dementia.
David hopes viewers will be prompted to “be there for support” for people living with dementia, of course. But equally, “be inspired to look for the joy.”
The “J. Costello” world premiere is Monday, November 6th. Please tell your friends and family, people you attend support groups with, and share it on Facebook. Help spread the word about this terrific film. Let others know being inspired to look for the joy is a worthy pursuit.
Christy Turner is the founder of DementiaSherpa.com, creator of the program What To Do When Your Parent or Partner Has Dementia, and a featured blogger on Sixty+Me.com. Her segment “Guiding You Through Rough Terrain with The Dementia Sherpa” appears on The Alzheimer’s Podcast every other Tuesday. Christy has enjoyed the privilege of working with 1,123 people living with dementia and their families.