ONLY WHEN WE ARE OLD AND WISE,

CAN WE SEE THE POETRY IN MEMORY. -- DeYoung Zhou

WHY WE DO THIS

Celebrities publish biographies to tell their stories. What about ordinary people? They should have memoirs too. This is because everyone has a story and because our sense of history is enriched by hearing about the life experiences of everyday people. The senior population is growing rapidly but is often neglected and regarded as having nothing more to contribute to society. In fact, many of them have untold and fascinating stories, and this project aims to encourage them to share so that the generations after them can benefit from this priceless and vast reservoir of knowledge.

I have long been interested in working with elderly people, especially those who are disadvantaged and have very few resources. Although I have a long history in filmmaking, I regret not taking enough time to record my own parents’ stories because I was too busy and kept putting it off. Like my parents, many of our elders do not feel their stories are worth telling and do not feel comfortable displaying their emotions in front of a camera. However, I have found this population to be very eager to share and pass on their life experiences, if only we are willing to ask and listen. Since the passing of my mother in 2007, my desire to collect life stories from our elders has intensified, and I am now dedicating my time, energy, and skills to help preserve memories and family histories for our elders, their families, and our communities.