Brennan, Heather, Adolphus, Mel, Dan, Sam, Dolphine, Tom, and Jon at MSPIFF.
How Living Well ended up in a documentary: Back in December of 2023 Heather Heier and Jamee Yung of Living Well Disability Services had a meeting with filmmaker, Brennan Vance and Jon Hallberg, MD, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and creative director of its Center for the Art of Medicine, to discuss making a film.
They were looking to produce a documentary and were hoping to tell the story of the professionals who care for people over age 65. After interviewing several potential providers, many in the traditional nursing care model, they heard from us and were riveted by the stories we could tell.
Over the past year and a half, they filmed and produced, “How to Care,” a 23-minute documentary short featuring our Cloman home and starring Sam Subah, Melanie Jones, and Dolphine Momanyi as they support artist, Dan Stallsworth, in his quest for living his best life. See them at home, an art show, and advocating for funding at 2023’s Disability Services Day at the Minnesota State Capitol.
An ovation for Dan as he left the theater!
Little did anyone know the movie would be so timely and feel ripped from the headlines as funding for disability services is on the chopping block both federally and at the state level.
All the drama of legislative chaos aside, we are beyond thrilled to announce that the film, “How to Care,” won BOTH the Jury and Audience Choice awards for best documentary short at the just-concluded Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF)! It truly is the film we all need to see right now.
The little movie that could / Producer’s notes by Jon Hallberg: Our Film, “How to Care,” was never meant to be made. Back in 2018, I helped write a portion of a large HRSA grant, part of a U of M effort called the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, or GWEP. My plan was to take a live, inspired-by-radio show called Hippocrates Café, that I had been doing for about a decade, around the state to various small towns. The show was going to focus on healthy aging, using the Four M’s model (Mobility, Mentation, Medication, and What Matters) put forth by the John A. Hartford Foundation. Then the pandemic hit.
Over the next four years, I worked with TPT PBS to turn my live show into a four-show series for television called “Art + Medicine.” This ended up getting distributed nationally through American Public Television (APT) and won three regional Emmy awards. After we got on the other side of the pandemic, and it came time to think about the state-wide tour, I just didn’t have the energy to deal with all of those logistics. In addition, the idea of a film became much more appealing, as it could reach so many more people–and could live in perpetuity on various streaming platforms. The idea of focusing on direct support professionals was suggested by my boss, the head of Family Medicine at the U of M, and former president of the American Geriatrics Society, and it was clear this could make for a compelling topic. So, I appealed to HRSA, rewrote part of the grant, and got enthusiastic permission to make a film. Then I had to find a director–and Brennan Vance’s name came up. I reached out to him, and we hit it off immediately. I knew I found the person I needed to make the film.
Then we spent a few months trying to find the right subject. Finally, in an act of desperation, I posted a query on both Facebook and Linked In, asking my friends and colleagues if they might know of compelling subjects. Almost immediately, Jamee Yung reached out, and suggested that Living Well might be a great fit. Once Brennan and I met with Jamee and Heather, working with Living Well was an easy, obvious choice!
Brennan created the most beautiful work of art I’ve ever been involved with. It’s tender and joyful, yet it doesn’t shy away from the hard reality of caring for people with disabilities, while simultaneously looking closely at the people providing that essential work.
The filmmaker chimes In / Director’s statement by Brennan Vance: As a documentarian, I am continually humbled by the trust my storytelling partners place in me, allowing me access to private spaces and moments I would otherwise have no right to witness. With a camera on my shoulder and a story to tell, I am invited into vulnerable conversations, capturing moments of joy and sorrow, and witnessing life in such a personal, privileged way that it still moves me after 20 years of filmmaking. The responsibility of honoring that trust and telling truthful stories is what drives me, and this film was no exception.
Both Dr. Jon Hallberg and I were drawn to the story of direct care workers, albeit for different reasons. Jon, as a family physician for over 30 years, wanted to honor the process of direct care and shed light on life with disabilities. I, on the other hand, had recently experienced my parent’s passage through the nursing home system, and I was deeply moved by the care workers who looked after my father 24/7 until his passing. Together, we searched for the right story and found Dan Stallsworth, an artist in his 70s living with cerebral palsy. Dan’s infectious joy and creative ambition make him an inspiring person whose life story shows how direct care enables individuals with a range of abilities to live with choice and agency.
Friends and family screening last summer.
What I learned from Dan and his incredible team couldn’t fit into a 23-minute film (or even a 230-minute film, for that matter). But one lasting lesson I took away is that care goes beyond the medical field. Care is not just a technical, life-saving process; it’s also an ethos, a philosophy, and a worldview. We all need care in some form, no matter our age or ability, and it’s even more important to offer care whenever and however we can. Before this project, I had never considered filmmaking as an act of care. But with the help of Dan, Sam, Mel, and Dolphine, I realized that storytelling is a way I can offer insight, comfort, and perhaps even healing to those whose stories I tell, as well as to those who witness them. I am honored and excited to share this film with Dr. Jon Hallberg, Dan Stallsworth, and the incredible team dedicated to his care.
The Film is getting some great BUZZ: “How to Care” will be featured along with 13 other films at the Arts and Healing International Film Festival in Portland, Oregon, June 13-14, 2025. And it will also be part of Season 9 of Project Unloney Films, a collection of powerful short films that bring diverse perspectives on loneliness, founded by Harvard professor Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH.
Lastly, the producers are in discussions with TPT to have it shown there, and Next Avenue: News and Information for People Over 50 to have the film shared on their online platform. Next Avenue is a nonprofit, digital journalism publication produced by Twin Cities PBS (TPT) and is public media’s first and only national publication for older adults.
Where can you watch?: There is a private viewing and a public art show featuring Dan’s artwork scheduled for May 15. And we expect to have a public YouTube link sometime in late May, and as mentioned above, you might get to watch it on TPT soon, too.
Special Thanks: Thank you to Dan Stallsworth, Sam Subah, Melanie Jones, and Dolphine Momanyi, as well as Adolphus Kesseh and all staff involved in the film. Thank you for sharing your lives and stories with the filmmakers, and for trusting us when we approached you about participation in the film. This is outside your wheelhouse and we are beyond grateful for your trust. Thank you to Jon Hallberg and Brennan Vance for telling a beautiful story about the importance of care. This film is a must see for anyone and everyone as the need for care affects all of eventually. And to all caregivers at Living Well, and throughout the world, thank you for making careers out of caring. You are the reason Jon and Brennan made this film.
Interested in winning two tickets to the private screening on May 15? Email heather.heier@livingwell.org to be entered into a drawing.
It’s not too late to email support for disability services providers. You can find your legislators contact info here, and send an email or make a call. The session goes through May, so there is time. Join our mailing list and never miss out on invites and information. Click here to get a weekly email! Email Adrienne at adrienne.deruyck@livingwell.org for more information about house openings.