In 2002, Chris Wynn quit his job in Toronto to live with his parents in their home in the Laurentians region of Quebec.
His father, John Wynn, had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease a few years earlier, at the age of 57. His mother, Marilyn, was struggling as his sole caregiver, so Chris, in his early 30s at the time, decided to move back in with them to help out.
Chris, who had worked as a post-production editor of commercials, started filming his father with his small digital video camera for something to do.
“It helped me cope,” he said. “If you’re watching your father — someone you love — deteriorate with this disease, you need to do something instead of just sitting there. It just gave me something to do.”
That footage eventually turned into the 2009 feature documentary Forgetful Not Forgotten, in which Chris shares his father’s story.
Chris Wynn visits with his father, John Wynn, at a nursing home. John was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 57. Supplied photo.
He will be showing clips from the film and speaking at the Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin’s annual Alzheimer Awareness Dinner, Jan. 24.
The event will be held at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Brady Street, starting at 6 p.m.
After living with his parents for about a year, Chris got another job, working on a television show in Montreal. He still spent his weekends with his parents, helping them out, and continued to film the ups and downs of his father’s life with Alzheimer’s.
“My father was very outgoing,” Chris said. “He was a salesman, and he loved to talk. When he started to lose that ability, that was really upsetting.”
Later on, Chris mentioned the footage he’d been collecting to a film producer friend. After viewing the footage, his friend told him he should make it into a film.
“TVO was very interested,” he said. “They came on board, and that’s how the project got going.”
Chris began to put the film together in 2006, as his father was in the last stages of life.
“Literally my father passed away during the time I was making it,” he said.
Chris said at first, his mother was nervous about the idea of the film.
“She said ‘What are you going to show?’” he said.
“I said ‘I’m going to show everything. I’m going to show what really happened.’”
The completed film gives an intimate portrayal of John Wynn’s life, showing his struggles to remember who family members are, his depression, his move into a nursing home, and finally, his last hours of life.
Chris said the film has now played on TVO several times, and was screened at a several film festivals, even winning a few awards. He started getting calls from Alzheimer Society chapters across Ontario, asking him to talk to their members about the film. He said he’s spoken in nearly every region of the province, and has also spoken to groups in Quebec and the United States.
Tickets to the Alzheimer Awareness Dinner cost $50, or $375 per table, and are available by phoning the Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin at 705-560-0603. Jan. 22 is the last day to purchase tickets.
DVDs of the film are available at the event for $20 each. For more information about the film, visit www.forgetfulnotforgotten.com.
Posted by Laurel Myers
