Familiar Touch: Film by Sarah Friedlander
St John's Film Club presents a film by Sarah Friedland
Kathleen Chalfant stars as Ruth in Sarah Friedland's tender, award-winning drama about memory, identity and the humanity of care.
St John's Film Club is proud to present a special screening of the award-winning drama Familiar Touch. In honour of World Alzheimer's Month this September, we invite our community to come together for a deeply empathetic look at memory, identity, and caregiving.
Billed as a compassionate "coming-of-old-age" story, Familiar Touch follows Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant in a Venice Film Festival award-winning performance), an octogenarian woman transitioning into an assisted living facility. As her short-term memory shifts, Ruth must navigate her changing relationship with herself, her son (H. Jon Benjamin), and the dedicated care workers who guide her daily routine.
Rather than leaning into heavy-handed tragedy, director Sarah Friedland handles the material with extraordinary grace, sharp honesty, and moments of surprising humor. By grounding the lens entirely in Ruth’s perspective, the film serves as a beautiful tribute to the enduring humanity of those living with cognitive decline, as well as the patient resilience of their caregivers.
Join us at St John's Film Club this September to honour Alzheimer's Awareness Month with a cinematic masterpiece that celebrates dignity, connection, and the strength of the human touch.