Alzheimer's gets a dose of comedy!
Comedian Arlieta Hall turns to improv as a tool to caregive for her father Milton, who is losing himself to Alzheimer’s.
News
Arlieta wins Maude's Award 2024
Arlieta & Brittany Featured in The Call Sheet
Take Care! Improv for Caregivers Workshop
Arlieta was recognized for her work in the dementia/Alzheimer's care community. This is a grant awarded annually to the individual or organization that has provided impactful education, training or support for care partners of persons living with dementia.
Take Care! Improv for Caregivers Workshop
Arlieta & Brittany Featured in The Call Sheet
Take Care! Improv for Caregivers Workshop
In July, Arlieta presented her workshop at the brand new Sisters in Cinema space in South Shore, Chicago. Attendees were engaged and grateful for the validation and tools she provided. Learn more here.
Arlieta & Brittany Featured in The Call Sheet
Arlieta & Brittany Featured in The Call Sheet
Arlieta & Brittany Featured in The Call Sheet
The Call Sheet is a new film publication from two women-run groups in Chicago: Camera Ambassador and Cinema Femme. We were honored to be interviewed by our dear friend and fellow filmmaker, KVV. Read or listen here: https://thecallsheet.publuu.com/
About Us
Who Are We?
We are the perfect people to make this film because Arlieta uses stand up comedy to encourage the art of storytelling to break the silence of Alzheimer's. The improvisation and empathy that Arlieta exhibits with Milton gives the audience multiple methods to apply in their own lives. Brittany has the story telling expertise and access required to bring to light both the often frightening face of Alzheimer's and the grace of Arlieta’s home, combining them into a compelling film. We take the viewer on an Alzheimer's journey, showing how the disease affects the entire family and how it’s up to the family to embrace and adjust to the shocking changes caused by this disease
Arlieta Hall
(Executive Producer, Director, Protagonist) is a host, actress, improviser, stand-up comedian, writer, and a first-time filmmaker from Chicago. She is one of The Second City NBC Bob Curry Fellowship recipients who recently co-starred as Sadie on Showtime’s The CHI episodic, and a co-producer of the comedy variety show My Best Friend is Black. Next up, she will be a writer and performer in The Second City’s 2023 Black Excellence Revue. https://arlietahall.com
Brittany Alsot
(Producer, Director, Cinematographer) Brittany first learned the power of personal storytelling working at Seattle Children's Hospital as a protege of Academy-Award shortlisted director Mike Attie. She continues to focus on work that impacts underrepresented communities, making marketing and campaign videos for social justice and arts organizations. Her fiction shorts have screened at queer and feminist film festivals across the country and internationally. http://brittanyalsot.com
Donnie Seals, Jr
(Editor) We're so excited to have hired Donnie to be on our team. Donnie is a director, producer, editor and writer with Digife, a video production company based in Chicago. As a photojournalism graduate of Columbia College Chicago, Seals was able to evolve from still photography to film. He's spent over ten years as an editor and commercial producer with KVVU-TV in Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, he developed and produced the digital documentary series "The Season" which followed the controversial high school basketball powerhouse Findlay Prep. Donnie’s filmography includes the music documentary Making Skybreak and The Takeover, a film about 100 Northwestern University students who peacefully occupied the Bursar's Office to protest the black student experience in 1968. He’s recently edited Hulu/Kartemquin Accelerator Program director Resita Cox's film Freedom Hill. He is a 2022 Diverse Voices in Docs Fellow at Kartemquin. https://www.donnieseals.com/
Yvonne Welbon
(Executive Producer) Yvonne is an award-winning filmmaker and Founder & CEO of the Chicago-based non-profit Sisters in Cinema, inspired by her documentary of the same name, about the history of Black women feature film directors. She is a Senior Creative Consultant at Chicken & Egg Pictures, and has produced and distributed over two dozen award-winning films, including Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @100—winner of 10 best documentary awards.
Mary Manhardt
(Finishing Editor) Mary is a much-sought-after documentary film editor and consultant, specializing in cinema verité. Over her more than two decades in the business, numerous films on which she has worked have been nominated and/or won the industry’s top awards: Learning to Skate in a War Zone (If You’re a Girl) (Academy Award winner); Which Way Home (Academy Award nominee); Street Fight (Academy Award nominee); The Farm (Academy Award nominee, Best Editing Emmy winner); and American Promise (Best Editing Emmy nominee). IMDb
Arlieta and Brittany approached Mary because of how much her edit of Tig (Netflix) inspired them in making Finding Your Laughter and they're thrilled she said yes!
Praise for Finding Your Laughter
“This team out of the Chi have found a way to laugh in a healthy, cathartic way from facing the all too real battle of dementia on the home front.” - Dave Woods, Producer, 8th Cinema
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"I laughed and I cried and I really cared." - Yvonne Welbon, Sisters in Cinema
Living in the caregiving Moment
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving
Did you catch Arlieta on Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving? Her episode is called "A Comedian Walks into a Dementia Unit" and it's a really lovely interview in which she talks candidly about the highs and lows of caring for her father.
No Referral Needed Podcast
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving
Twenty-Four Seven: A Podcast about Caregiving
Arlieta shares her dad's history and how she started working her caregiving struggles into her comedy.
join Us
We're here for you
We are so excited about the positive impact of making this project, but we can’t do it alone. If this project speaks to you — if you’ve been affected by Alzheimer’s, if you know the joys and challenges of caregiving — please reach out to us. We are looking to connect with like-minded partners to creatively and strategically expand the reach of our film.
Finding Your Laughter The Documentary
