FAMILIAR TOUCH Trailer: Kathleen Chalfant Stars In Sarah Friedland’s Compassionate Feature Debut

As we get older and our memories shift, how can we live in the present? First-time writer-director Sarah Friedland addresses this question in her gentle and moving feature debut, Familiar Touch. The drama stars Kathleen Chalfant as Ruth, a retired woman in her 80s whose cognitive decline forces her to move into an assisted living facility where she contends with fading memories and her relationships with the people in her life. It premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where it won Best Director, Best Actress, and Best First Film. H. Jon Benjamin, Carolyn Michelle, Andy McQueen, and Katelyn Nacon also star.

Friedland shot the film on location at Villa Gardens retirement community in Pasadena, California, with many of the residents and staff becoming part of the cast and crew. Music Box Films acquired the U.S. rights following its Venice premiere and is set to release it in select theaters on June 20.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong. As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.

In our ND/NF curtain raiser, where the film had it’s NY premiere, Chistopher Llewyn Reed wrote, “A meditation on aging that should resonate with a wide audience: those aging beyond the ability to be self-reliant, those now dealing with aging parents or partners whose needs go beyond what they can manage alone, and just about anyone looking ahead to a future of either concern (or both). Starring Kathleen Chalfant (Old) as Ruth, a woman in her eighties moving into an assisted-living facility, Familiar Touch, from director Sarah Friedland, promises to be an assured debut, offering varied takes on the drama awaiting us all at the end of life.”

Watch the official trailer below.

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