Blog archive
March 2025
About Senior Solutions
03/28/2025
Building a Bridge With Journey House, A Home Base for Former Foster Youth
03/28/2025
Come for the Knitting, Stay for the Conversation... and the Cookies
03/28/2025
Creating Safe and Smart Spaces with Home Technology
03/28/2025
Finding Joy in My Role on The Pasadena Village Board
03/28/2025
I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
03/28/2025
Managing Anxiety
03/28/2025
Message from Our President: Keeping Pasadena Village Strong Together
03/28/2025
My Favorite Easter Gift
03/28/2025
The Hidden History of Black Women in WWII
03/28/2025
Urinary Tract Infection – Watch Out!
03/28/2025
Volunteer Coordinator and Blade-Runner
03/28/2025
Continuing Commitment to Combating Racism
03/26/2025
Status - March 20, 2025
03/20/2025
Goodbye and Keep Cold by Robert Frost
03/13/2025
What The Living Do by Marie Howe
03/13/2025
Racism is Not Genetic
03/11/2025
Bill Gould, The First
03/07/2025
THIS IS A CHAPTER, NOT MY WHOLE STORY
03/07/2025
Dramatic Flair: Villagers Share their Digital Art
03/03/2025
Empowering Senior LGBTQ+ Caregivers
03/03/2025
A Life Never Anticipated
03/02/2025
Eaton Fire Changes Life
03/02/2025
February 2025
Commemorating Black History Month 2025
02/28/2025
Transportation at the Pasadena Village
02/28/2025
A Look at Proposition 19
02/27/2025
Behind the Scenes: Understanding the Pasadena Village Board and Its Role
02/27/2025
Beyond and Within the Village: The Power of One
02/27/2025
Celebrating Black Voices
02/27/2025
Creatively Supporting Our Village Community
02/27/2025
Decluttering: More Than The Name Implies
02/27/2025
Hidden Gems of Forest Lawn Museum
02/27/2025
LA River Walk
02/27/2025
Message from the President
02/27/2025
Phoenix Rising
02/27/2025
1619 Conversations with West African Art
02/25/2025
The Party Line
02/24/2025
Bluebird by Charles Bukowski
02/17/2025
Dreams by Langston Hughes
02/17/2025
Haiku - Four by Fritzie
02/17/2025
Haikus - Nine by Virginia
02/17/2025
Wind and Fire
02/17/2025
Partnerships Amplify Relief Efforts
02/07/2025
Another Community Giving Back
02/05/2025
Diary of Disaster Response
02/05/2025
Eaton Fire: A Community United in Loss and Recovery
02/05/2025
Healing Powers of Creative Energy
02/05/2025
Living the Mission
02/05/2025
Message from the President: Honoring Black History Month
02/05/2025
Surviving and Thriving: Elder Health Considerations After the Fires
02/05/2025
Treasure Hunting in The Ashes
02/05/2025
Villager's Stories
02/05/2025
A Beginning of Healing
02/03/2025
Hectic Evacuation From Eaton Canyon Fire
02/02/2025
Hurricanes and Fires are Different Monsters
02/02/2025
January 2025
At Dawn by Ed Mervine
01/31/2025
Thank you for Relief Efforts
01/31/2025
Needs as of January 25, 2025
01/24/2025
Eaton Fire Information
01/23/2025
Escape to San Diego
01/19/2025
Finding Courage Amid Tragedy
01/19/2025
Responses of Pasadena Village February 22, 2025
01/18/2025
A Tale of Three Fires
01/14/2025
FILMS WORTHY OF AN OSCAR
By Blog MasterPosted: 03/01/2021
SHORT FILMS WORTHY OF AN OSCAR!
In November 2020, seven women from Pasadena Village signed up to take a story-telling and filmmaking class given by Shauna McGarry from the Echo Park Film Center. At the end of the class, each participant produced a short film about a defining event from their lives. On a Sunday afternoon in February the women, assisted by Shauna, shared their projects via Zoom before a large appreciative audience of Village members and friends.
We all have stories from our lives and, of course, the longer we have lived, the more stories there are to tell. Each of the women had to select one story from their life, just one, and then whittle that story down to five minutes or less – a big challenge! Loss was a common thread running through all of the films - loss of a spouse or partner, loss of a beloved pet, loss of a long-time home, loss of one’s vision, loss of a lifestyle. But also abundantly clear in the films was a shared foundational sense of hope and renewal.
With the expert guidance of instructor Shauna McGarry, they “polished” their words down to a “golden nugget” that said it all. With art and photos and film clips, the stories came together. Each woman narrated her own story with her own illustrations. It was a bonding experience as they helped each other condense, condense, condense. The results were illuminating, heart-warming, and revealing. Here’s what we learned:
Sandy Biery, after a career focused on art and dance, is still dancing to celebrate life and the environment. Sally Currie treasured the time with her second husband, Tom, who continues to inspire her poetry. Katherine Gabel transformed her grief at the loss of her dog into the “animal energy” of two rescue kittens. Sally Asmundsen shared two “leaps” in her life, emphasizing the confidence that she gained in the process. Lark Ruffner re-kindled her adventurous spirit post-retirement by going on the road in her van named “Kerouac” (voiced by husband, Howard). Artist Karen Bagnard faced the loss of her vision with renewed artistic creativity. And Jean Owen celebrated the love of her 54 year marriage that was deeply rooted in her love of the Pasadena community.
Pasadena Village members are hoping there is another opportunity to sign up for a filmmaking class at Echo Park Film Center, which has received funding from AARP to use filmmaking to nurture creativity in older adults. We all have rich stories to tell from our life experiences. We are grateful to Shauna and the Echo Park Film Center for this experience which challenged us to learn new skills and allowed us the opportunity to help our Village friends know us even better.
Watch the film festival here