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Published on 06/05/1995 All articles from this issue

Oscar-nominated documentary on Alzheimer's to Air June 13 on KQED-TV

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"Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter," the Oscar-nominated documentary on Alzheimer's disease by Oakland filmmaker Deborah Hoffmann, and focal point of a Los Altos-based Alzheimer's organization, makes its Bay Area broadcast premiere on Tuesday at 10 p.m. on KQED, Channel 9.

Hoffmann chronicles the challenges of providing care for her mother, Doris, who is a victim of Alzheimer's disease. Hoffmann provides an extremely witty and uplifting viewpoint of an otherwise hopeless dilemma facing an estimated four million Alzheimer's patients and nearly 18 million family caregivers nationwide. She integrates into the film humor, compassion and positive ways of coping with this disease, rather than offering clinical details of her mother's deterioration.

At one point in the film, Hoffmann describes her mother's various obsessive stages. There was, for example, the "Dentist Period," where Doris posted piles of notes to remind herself of (mostly nonexistent) dental appointments, and the "Banana Period," where Doris ate one banana after another like a chain-smoker puffing on cigarettes.

"Hoffmann was made a loving, optimistic and authentic film about her mother, and the struggles to adjust to the changes wrought by Alzheimer's disease," says Bill Fisher, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, based in Los Altos. "This is a film that families beginning to deal with dementia or looking at placement will want to see."

The Alzheimer's Association of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, along with other Alzheimer's groups across the nation, is using "Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter" as a springboard for a national and local Caregiver Support Campaign. The essence of the campaign is to raise community awareness of Alzheimer's disease and issues related to caregiving, and to let caregivers know that they are not alone in their isolation and frustration.

"When I was in the throes of this situation with my mother, I felt so lost, so frightened, such a burden of responsibility and so utterly alone," Hoffmann said. "If I had seen something that had told me that others have been through exactly the same thing, I just think that would have helped tremendously. so I wanted to do something that would be helpful to people who were in my situation so they would not be left feeling hopeless."

In addition to the Oscar nomination, the film has won several awards, including the Gold Apple award at the National Film and Video Festival and a Silver Award at the British Medical Film and Video Competition.

Afflicting one-tenth of all Americans over 65 and nearly half of those over 85, Alzheimer's is among the leading causes of death in adults, ranking fourth behind heart disease, cancer and stroke. The disease affects the part of the brain that controls thought, memory and language. Symptoms include confusion and the inability to carry out routine tasks.

For more information, call 962-8111.