Ex Memoria - a short film about one woman's experiences of dementia

Ex Memoria is a short fiction film (15 minutes) which attempts to capture some of the experiences of a woman with dementia who is living in a care home.  The film focuses on the central character – Eva – a woman in her late 70s who is Jewish and was born in Poland, and her interactions with staff, other residents and visitors. Ex Memoria is filmed in a way that attempts to highlight Eva’s view of events.  It challenges us to think about what she is experiencing, and invites us to consider what it is like to be a older person with dementia trying to make sense of past and present.

The film was made with funding from the Wellcome Trust’s SCIART scheme and is the product of a collaboration between Josh Appignanesi (writer/director), Mia Bays (producer) and academic partners Errollyn Bruce and Andrea Capstick from Bradford Dementia Group.

Josh Appignanesi’s visits to his grandmother with dementia in her nursing home were the inspiration for the film. He realised that film could be used to give us a glimpse of the strangeness of living with dementia. He drew upon his grandmother’s life history and experiences to create the character Eva. The collaboration with the Bradford Dementia Group helped him present a nuanced and believable picture of Eva’s experience of dementia.

The film has been extremely well received and the 2,000 free copies made available by the project funders The Wellcome Trust have now been widely distributed in the UK and overseas. Free copies are no longer available but from December 2007 you can buy the DVD package - including a booklet of learning materials to support group discussion and staff development - from the film website www.exmemoriafilm.co.uk for £20.90 (incl. p&p).

Study Materials

Part of the project was to produce copies of the film on DVD for use in training and education and to develop learning material to go with it. You can download a document of 16 Ex Memoria handouts relating to issues raised by the film. In any given setting you are unlikely to need all 16, but you can photocopy and use whichever handouts seem most appropriate.

1. Wartime Poland.
2. How film can help us to notice more.
3. What is it like to have dementia?
4. Life history and dementia care.
5. Past and present.
6. How we can make matters worse.
7. How we can make things better.
8. People with dementia and conversation.
9. Communication and dementia.
10. Group living in late life.
11. Having help with personal care.
12. Families and dementia.   
13. What is person-centred care?
14. Dementia and relationships.
15. Thinking about feelings.
16. The need for something to do.