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Two Film Screenings to Address the Topic of Grief at Death Café

by ReadingFilm

Mar 14, 2023

On set shot from “Turning Blue” (Co-Directors Dana White and Chris Knoblock with Director of Photography Laura Valladao)

Reading Film is pleased to collaborate with Exeter Community Library, Reading Public Library, Wyomissing Public Library and the Eunice and Albert Boscov Theatre at the Goggleworks Center for the Arts for a “Death Café” on Monday, March 27th at 7pm. Screenings of “The Caregiver” directed by Santo D. Marabella and “Turning Blue” from Dana White & Christopher Knoblock will be shown. Marabella, White and Knoblock will be present for the screening, Q&A, and reception.

A Death Café is a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes, rather than a grief support or counseling session. At a Death Café people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The objective is ‘to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.

Santo D. Marabella’s film, “The Caregiver” addresses the role family members play as a parent nears death, and learning to care for oneself in the process. “Family caregivers make such a difference to a loved one as they struggle to live or prepare to die” says Marabella, “I think it is not only a gift to their loved one, but a gift to ourselves – for we get chances to forgive, connect and celebrate that we may never have had or may never have accepted.”

On set shot from Marabella’s “The Caregiver” (Kirk Lawrence, played the father, left; Barry Ciabattoni, played the son, middle; Megan Martin, Hair/Make-Up)

“One of the ways I tried to deal with my grief over the loss of (my mother) Carol, as well as my father Stratton, who died three weeks before Carol, has been to share the experience with the outside world in the form of a film “Turning Blue”. While it doesn’t take away all of the grief, it feels wonderful to know that sharing the story might make someone not feel so alone,” according to Dana White, Director.

Mallory Hoffman, Executive Director of Exeter Community Library, and moderator of The Death Café said, “What I didn’t realize at the time I started attending and moderating, was how integral a part of MY life Death Café would become. How important some of these conversations would be to me and how much others needed them as well.”

Date: Monday, March 27th, 7pm

Location: Boscov Theatre, Goggleworks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St., Reading, PA 19601

Registration is FREE: https://bit.ly/3YkFxaw

The ReadingFilm Office was founded to promote the region as a location destination for film and media production. We aim to develop a thriving regional film industry, and build community pride through events, educational programs, and economic development. We believe in lifting the voices of the under represented and meet the needs of the diverse community we serve. Learn more at https://readingfilm.org or search @readingfilm on social media.

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