The short documentary film Still Here is available to watch at theย top of the page.
“What would you like it to be about?” director Sara Siegel inquires of her grandmother Marcella (Nonna) at the film’s outset. “We had decided when we said ‘still here’. About being still here!” Nonna responds, “Somebody that you expect not to be here, is still here. How about that? With all that means being here: the bitterness, the sweetness, the lovingness, the non-lovingness.”
This introductory dialogue, setting the tone for the film, unfolds against a black screen, before revealing the film’s subject. As the screen illuminates, what do we anticipate seeing? Are we taken aback by the woman who remains? Perhaps this straightforward exchange will help strip away our preconceptions. Sara Siegel choreographs a subtle interplay between audience expectations and the portrayal of a woman whose very existence challenges those assumptions. The film offers a candid depiction of the aging body, capturing the myriad emotions it evokes both for the individual and those around her. It paints a picture of an elderly woman who embraces life with tenacity, tranquility, and a profound acceptance of her remaining time.
Cinema rarely showcases the aging female form. Even the iconic character of Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” was portrayed by actress Gloria Swanson at a mere 50 years of age. This character provides a poignant depiction of a once-famous actress, desperately clinging to her youth and dreams of recapturing her lost beauty and cinematic glory. Art historian and scholar Tal Dekel, author of “Women and Old Age – Gender and Ageism as Reflected in Israeli Art,” notes that society often views old age negatively, something to be avoided. When it comes to the representation of aging women in visual culture, society often shies away from the raw reality. Dekel’s book delves into how society finds the nudity of elderly women unsettling and difficult to accept, creating a jarring contrast between the familiar and the alien. Dekel examines the works of contemporary female artists who use a unique language to give visibility to what often remains absent and hidden from us in visual culture.
In a similar vein, Siegel’s film presents an atypical portrayal of an elderly woman. Early in the film, Nonna reflects on a photograph of her younger self, radiant and plain. Yet, unlike Norma Desmond, she doesn’t yearn for her lost youth and beauty. Nonna recalls how the woman in the photograph was unaware of her beauty and felt melancholic. Now, she is unbothered by her body’s changes and is willing to present it, in all its authenticity, to the camera. The film juxtaposes the two images: the youthful body is static and distant, while the older Marcela is present and unmasked.
What worth do youth and beauty hold if they are accompanied by sorrow, suppression, and embarrassment? Moreover, the protagonist now embraces her aging form, presenting it openly and without reservation. The film challenges social norms that objectify young women and render older women invisible. Siegel’s lens shifts this perspective, celebrating the aging body and offering a poetic representation of old age, emphasizing the tangible signs of time’s passage.
However, this body, nearing 90 years, sometimes betrays Nonna. She resolutely defies her body’s natural limitations and the well-meaning advice of her daughter and granddaughter. “Donโt tell me that I donโt know how to breathe! I breathe for 90 years!” she declares. Yet, her body struggles, reliant on machines, gasping for air, and her spirit mourns the unsaid and the time squandered on trivialities.
For Siegel, the essence of Nonna’s existence lies in the profound connections she shares with those around her, a theme recurrent throughout the film. Whether it’s the bond with her dog, her affection for her lover Shlomo, or the tender moments shared across three generations of women, these relationships provide solace, support, and comfort.
The film Still Here was produced as part of her studies at the School of visual theater.
The short documentary film Still Here is available to watch at theย top of the page.
