Founder of the Dominica Dementia Foundation, Rianna Patterson has embarked on a film project that will focus on the mental condition of dementia in Dominica.
The documentary will be titled Dementia: The Island Journey.
The film will highlight the stories of the elderly and families affected by dementia in Dominica. It will also show the persons who are living and ageing well with this mental illness and include elders’ perspectives and showcase the ‘live longer isle’ aspect as the island has many centenarians.
According to Patterson, the documentary will capture the beauty of Dominica and its citizen’s holistic practices. She said she will be working with a locally based crew but blended together with her international experience of dementia in the UK.
She explained that although she wants to mainly focus on Dominica, she has plans to include other Caribbean countries.
“The idea came about from looking at ageism in the media and seeing the language that is used, especially in terms of talking about black people and mental health. In general, I think there is a negative approach which means our people are not seeking professional help and we should be” Patterson said in an interview with findyello.
The DDF founder revealed that as much as her vision is promising, she has found it challenging to raise funds for the documentary because of the competition that lies in the film industry. Patterson has therefore turned to crowd funding and other areas of financial support.
She said the goal is £35,000 but if she scales down the project, something can be done with £3,000-£5,000.
The crowd funding page was published in November, 2020 and the film should be ready for distribution in November or December 2021.
“I’m hoping it’ll bring about lasting change and become a valued resource. I also want to use the film as a gateway to developing further awareness of dementia in Dominica and around the Caribbean. It would also be great to connect with other people in the region who are working for the same cause,” stated the advocate for dementia-affected persons.
She disclosed that her future plans for the DDF is continual support for families and care homes in a larger scale by endorsing media campaigns and developmental research.
“I want to find out from people what they need as well so we can create programs and strategies based on feedback. Also, liaising with the government and establishing that relationship so we can collaborate further.“
She believes that Dominica is not a dementia-friendly island just yet because of the stigma attached to this mental illness.
“Once we start telling the stories, and normalizing it, it’ll become easier for everyone… but we’re getting more accepting, especially in terms of talking about mental health,“ Patterson believes.
She is of the view that for Dominica to become more dementia-friendly, everyone, including businesses, bus drivers and others, must get involved.
“I’ve been on buses when the driver has become frustrated with some of the older people in the community as bus-drivers tend to work at a fast pace..“ she observed.
The DDF president also believes that people need to be more aware, patient, mindful and focused on customer experience and that we all need to come together to support this cause.
You can support and donate to Rianna’s crowd funding by clicking here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/dementiaisledoc
Click this link to purchase merchandise on Rianna’s website site: https://www.riannapatterson.com/shop
Below is the trailer for the documentary.
Great work! Let us know if we can help.
This is great news for our island I have been trying to talk to people about Dementia but in Dominica you hear they troublesome. Thank you