“The film, which airs nationally for the first time on PBS’s POV on Sept. 8, works as both a tribute to Pam White and a poignant personal exploration of the impact Alzheimer’s disease can have on a single family – twice, in this case, involving successive generations of women.”
By ABIGAIL JONES
By PETER KEOUGH
We’d like to introduce you to a special family — the White family of Dedham, Massachusetts. Pamela White is the daughter of renowned New England painter Marian Williams Steele.
By JOHN ANDERSON
It’s a remarkable film, not only for the obvious affection with which it was made, but as art. The downward trajectory of a woman in the grip of ever-worsening dementia provides only so many opportunities for visual storytelling.
“The Genius of Marian is an intimate, poetic documentary about Pam White and her family as they all struggle to deal with Pam’s Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Try to see “The Genius of Marian,” an outstanding documentary film about a woman and her family as they come to terms with this illness in a way that honors her humanity. It will be on PBS stations, September 8th…”
“…a family portrait in every sense.”
By LOREN KING
“The film is beautifully personal, an impressionistic journey that uses archival footage and talking head interviews of Pam’s family to perfect effect.”
By JENNY ROGERS
This moving but never maudlin film chronicles the struggles of Pam, her husband, Ed, and her children to deal with what happens when the family matriarch can no longer calculate the tip on a dinner bill or, eventually, respond to simple questions.
By DOUGLAS BAIR
Filmmaker Banker White captures both his family’s battle with Alzheimer’s Disease and his mother’s unique spirit.
By JACQUELINE GURGUI
“Prepare for a touching accomplishment in documentary cinema. “
By RACHEL KOLB
The Genius of Marian is more than a documentary about Alzheimer’s disease. This film is a tribute to the genius of Pam and the genius of Marian, a love letter from a son to his mother, and surely Pam’s story will not soon be forgotten.
By SCOTT MACAULAY
White documents his mother’s attempt to remember and save the memories of his grandmother in compellingly intimate footage.
By VADIM RIZOV
Arriving in New York in advance of the film’s world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, the pair was ready to talk about their long-gestating work. Sitting on a bed in a Fashion District hotel, they completed each other’s sentences and watched each other intently throughout, fittingly focused and synced-up while discussing this family movie.
By Mallory Marotz
Memory Mosaic – an interactive, multimedia archive, and community – is being developed in conjunction with the film to honor those affected by Alzheimer’s and their loved ones. The platform enables the audience to become both artist and archivist, and to co-create an evocative, visual, personal and communal experience of loss.
By LUKE WHITE
The Genius of Marian follows our family’s struggle to adapt to the changes that come with Alzheimer’s disease; it is an intimate portrait of a loving family.
The last few years have been a roller coaster of emotions, filled with frustration, sadness, joy and celebration. The Genius of Marian, is the most personal and most challenging project I have ever undertaken.
By BASIL TSIOKOS
The multi-generational storytelling being employed, along with the careful mix of Marian’s own art, archival footage, and present day photography, elevate the project from other well-meaning but limited studies of disease that function more as awareness builders than as well-rounded profiles of the subjects at their core.