The aged residential care programme is profiling some of the great work done in the sector. Here we look at a video which was created to highlight the challenges experienced by older people including social isolation and loneliness, in a gentle and engaging manner.
‘We’re not invisible, we’re not senile.’
Elder Birdsong is a short film that was produced in collaboration between Te Arai Research Group and University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts. Funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as part of the National Science Challenge, the film was one of eight New Zealand films selected for the Show Me Shorts film festival held in October 2019.
The film is based on research led by Professor Merryn Gott from the University’s Department of Nursing and explores the themes of social isolation and loneliness in a gentle and engaging manner.
It focuses on what it’s like to grow older in New Zealand using humour, with the messages delivered by an owl, a tui and a couple of godwits. The film aims to highlight systematic problems, with cultural sensitivity, covering issues of transport, community spaces and living away from families and shows how research can move beyond academic audiences.
Read more about the project: https://tearairesearchgroup.org/2019/10/24/elder-birdsong-animation-now-live.
Published: 21 Oct 2021
Modified: 13 Dec 2021
