Video Interview with Bob Cilman and Steve Martin of Young@Heart

Bob Cilman, the director of the Young@Heart Chorus, and Steve Martin, a chorus member, stopped by the ITVS offices yesterday — on the day of the television premiere of Young@Heart on Independent Lens on PBS.

In the video below, they talk about what it was like to participate in screenings across the country as part Community Cinema and what they hope people will take away from the television broadcast.

This month, Community Cinema is presenting Garbage Dreams, which follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village, a ghetto located on the outskirts of Cairo.

Learn more and find screenings near you >>

Even if you’re not a senior citizen yourself, chances are you’ve crossed paths with an older person who shattered all of your assumptions about what it is to be “old.” Share your inspirational stories of aging. Upload video, photographs, and text. Share your story >>

Tags: aging, music, senior citizens

Young@Heart Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“[Young@Heart] offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor.”
- The New York Times

We’re kicking off a month dedicated to music on Independent Lens –– four films in four weeks about the power of music to shape and enhance our lives. Tune in tonight to rock with the most entertaining golden oldies you will ever meet in the senior citizen’s chorus Young@Heart. With a show only weeks away, they must learn a slate of new songs ranging from James Brown to Coldplay. The chorus’s director leads them through tough rehearsals, proving that rock and roll can be hard work — especially if you’re hard of hearing! Climaxing in a triumphant performance, their inspiring story celebrates the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the life-affirming power of music.

Young@Heart premieres tonight, January 12, at 9:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Tags: aging, Coldplay, James Brown, music, senior citizens

Feeling Young At Heart This Holiday Season

Young@Heart director Bob Cilman doing a run-through of the James Brown classic "I Feel Good"

As a gift to our audiences, Community Cinema presented the heart-warming and inspiring hit documentary YOUNG@HEART this December. Many of our events — more than 42 nationwide — included live performances. Exceptional seniors shared their talents and personal stories of courage, persistence, and triumph in the face of adversity. If you are lucky enough to live in Denver, you have one more chance to attend a free Community Cinema event tonight at the Starz Film Center. A few more events occur in January.

Our national partners create unique ways for audiences to learn more about the link between creativity, culture, and aging. The mission of the National Center for Creative Aging is to foster an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and healthy aging and to developing programs that build on this understanding. Learn more about their public awareness campaign “The Art of Aging: Creativity Matters” and the center’s free online resource guide “Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit.”

WTTW Reception for young musicians and their families at the Chicago Cultural Center

Local partners connect our audiences with “on the ground” resources to turn the passion they experience during the film into action in their community. Audience members have said after an event, “I’m going to look for a local choir for my husband!” and “Made me want to join a chorus even if I can’t sing.” Our partners included such distinguished and esteemed partners as the Jazz Institute of Chicago, WTTW Channel 11, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (BMAC), KETC, the Missouri History Museum, the SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Office of Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, and Project:Involve. Project:Involve’s mission is to foster diversity in the film industry and to promote independent film making.

Our events included many super seniors who keep young at heart by performing their talents into their 70′s, 80′s, 90′s, and beyond. Watch videos and see photos from our events. › Continue reading

Tags: aging, music, senior citizen