RECOMMENDED - Educational Media Reviews Online | BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - San Francisco Jewish Film Festival | WINNER - National American College of Physicians Abstract Competition
Gerontology • Psychology • Social Work • Grief/Bereavement • Palliative Medicine • Hospice • Caregiving/Caregiver • End of Life • Nursing • American Studies • Documentary and Film Studies • Jewish Studies • Spirituality/ Religion/Chaplaincy
Date of Completion: 2020 | Run Time: 24 minutes | Language: English with Spanish and Hebrew subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript & Study Guide | Directors: Jessica Zitter, MD & Kevin Gordon | Producers: Jessica Zitter, MD & Kevin Gordon
CAREGIVER: A LOVE STORY is the tale of one man struggling to care for his dying wife. After four years of battling cancer that has now gone metastatic, 60-year-old Bambi Fass has had enough. Despite being a natural fighter and optimist, she decides to start focusing on maximizing quality of life instead of just prolonging it. Bambi will forego additional radiation treatment in order to live out her final weeks at home surrounded by her family and friends in Oakland. Although reluctant to let go of a woman he had met only three years earlier, her husband Rick supports her choice. An emotional journey that begins with song-filled friends and family gatherings soon becomes deeply challenging as Rick is left alone to care for Bambi in her final weeks, juggling the day-to-day demands of in-home hospice, the custody of his two-year old granddaughter, and the devastating realities of Bambi’s decline.
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO)
"This documentary is a call for action to acknowledge an invisible public health crisis. It sheds light on American caregivers who are struggling physically, emotionally, and financially with rare access to professional help and resources."
American Medical Women's Association | Eliza Chin, MD, Executive Director
“An intimate look at the beauty and challenges of caring for a loved one at home.”
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization | Edo Banach, President and CEO
“Caregiver: A Love Story shines a light on the demands of caregiving, which are unacknowledged and undervalued in our society.”
BJ Miller, MD, Palliative Care Physician and Author of A Beginner’s Guide to the End
“Caregiving is the most important American healthcare crisis that no one is talking about.”
Katy Butler, Author of Knocking on Heaven's Door and The Art of Dying Well
“This informative and heartbreakingly honest film validates the unrecognized millions who support the people they love.”
Lucy Kalanithi, MD, widow of Dr. Paul Kalanithi, author of When Breath Becomes Air
“Soulful and starkly honest—a moving picture of the joys and costs of caregiving. It will move families, health systems, and policy-makers alike.”
Shoshana Berger, coauthor of A Beginner’s Guide to the End
“Shining a light on the hidden financial, emotional, and physical toll of this work, the film [Caregiver: A Love Story] makes a compelling case for stopping business as usual and demanding we do more to care for our caregivers.”
AWARDS
Best Documentary Short 2020 | San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Competition Winner 2020 | National American College of Physicians Abstract Competition
FESTIVALS
Mill Valley Film Festival
Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
Miami Jewish Film Festival
Oakland International Film Festival
Legacy Film Festival on Aging
Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH, is a filmmaker focusing on personal stories that address the way people die in America. Past media include the Oscar-nominated “Extremis,” which is currently streaming on Netflix, and “Caregiver: A Love Story,” which won Best Documentary Short at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, Time Magazine, The Atlantic, and other national publications. She has been a guest on “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, “Doctor Oz,” and CBS Sunday Morning. In addition to making media, Dr. Zitter is the author of the book Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life. She attended Stanford University and Case Western Reserve University Medical School and earned her Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Her medical training includes an Internal Medicine residency at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a fellowship in Pulmonary/Critical Care at the University of California, San Francisco.