A Compelling Story of Creativity and Dementia

This film is based on Sylvia’s relationship in a creative expression activities program developed by Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka PhD.

Sylvia is a remarkable 80-year-old artist and teacher diagnosed several years ago with dementia. The story reveals Sylvia’s love for the arts and her struggle to exercise her skills as long as possible, even while her remaining short and long-term memories fade. Although Sylvia searches for the right words, she still manages to convey her profound thoughts on the arts, on teaching art and on her engagement in creative self-expression. Her humor and positive attitude, in spite of her awareness of her disease, reminds all of us that we should not let our own preconceptions about illness blind us to the potential of the human spirit.

dementia activity