People
Why We Chose to Tell
This Story
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
DIRECTOR
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
Arlieta the Speaker
Bring Arlieta to your conference or organization for an engaging, honest, funny, and memorable talk on caregiving for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Arlieta Brings Laughter to Your Conference
In her dynamic presentation, Arlieta Hall, certified Dementia Communication Specialist, will reveal how to use humor as a tool in dementia care. She’ll highlight humor’s role in boosting resilience and positivity, and its power to forge social bonds through shared laughter. The session will feature clips from her upcoming documentary — “Finding Your Laughter” — showcasing her use of improv to validate the experiences of the person with Alzheimer’s or dementia and to find laughter even amidst the challenges of caregiving.
Topics Covered
- What is improv and how to use it (interactive segment)
- Care for the caregiver
- Creative approaches to issues of feeding, bathing, and wandering
- Tools to process the challenges
- Exclusive clips from Arlieta’s forthcoming personal documentary, “Finding Your Laughter”
Testimonials
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.
Totally, thoroughly enjoyed this presentation given in an absolutely fresh, attention grabbing perspective. Heartwarming with exemplary take aways to put into one’s career and life!
The Team
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
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 has produced and distributed over two dozen award-winning films, including Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @100—winner of 10 best documentary awards.
Giorgia Harvey
(Editor) Giorgia Harvey is an award-winning editor with a decade of experience in documentary and commercial filmmaking. Her recent work includes No One Asked You, a feature doc on reproductive rights that premiered at DOC NYC and screened at over twenty festivals, as well as an international Walt Disney World commercial campaign. She teaches documentary filmmaking at the Hyde Park Arts Center. Website
Arlieta and Brittany were so thrilled with her edit of a new (not yet released) teaser for Finding Your Laughter that they knew Giorgia would be perfect to complete the edit.
Toni Achebe Bell
(Impact Manager)Toni Achebe Bell is the founder of Black Cat Impact Media and creator/host of the What’s Up with Docs Podcast. She has produced impact campaigns for acclaimed documentaries, including The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales (Abigail Disney) and A Woman on the Outside, and is a frequent speaker, mentor, and juror at festivals such as HotDocs and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Learn more at :https://black-cat-impact.b12sites.com/index
Franceska Bruny
(Social Media Manager) Franceska Bruny is a Haitian-American writer, communications strategist, and multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of faith, culture, and social justice. Based in Los Angeles, she has led communications and digital marketing campaigns for film, nonprofit, and advocacy organizations, including DOC NYC, Miami Film Festival, March on Washington Film Festival, and A Woman on the Outside. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and is the founder of Journey to Perfection and The Order.