In POV’s ‘The Genius of Marian,’ a Family Rediscovers Its Blessings in the Midst Of Coping With a Devastating Disease, Airing Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 on PBS

Banker White and Anna Fitch’s The Genius of Marian, an Official Selection of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, has its national broadcast premiere on Monday, Sept. 8, 2014 at 10 p.m. on PBS’s POV (Point of View) documentary series. (Check local listings.) It will stream on POV’s website, www.pbs.org/pov/geniusofmarian/, from Sept. 9 – Oct. 8.

By her own account, Pam White’s early years were a fairy tale. Her father owned a hotel in Cambridge, Mass., and her family lived in it as if it was their castle. Her mother was the renowned painter Marian Williams Steele, who became noted for stunning portraiture and New England landscapes, including lively impressionistic scenes of her family at play at the Gloucester seashore.

In 2008, Pam began writing a book about her mother, The Genius of Marian. Pam started her book because her grandmother was “amazing,” a person whose memory should be “kept alive and not forgotten.” In an uncanny twist, Pam was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s only a year later.

And so the film starts to become the book that Pam may not be able to finish and, beyond that, the story of two remarkable women and their family’s struggle to cherish, preserve and persevere in the face of a seemingly annihilating illness. Alzheimer is often a long and isolating disease process. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are approximately 5.4 million people in the United States with Alzheimer’s disease; up to 5 percent have early-onset, which affects people younger than 65. And for the 15 million caregivers, the stress can be debilitating. 

The Genius of Marian follows Pam’s struggles, from early episodes of word fumbling and attempts to hide “memory issues,” to more serious states of confusion and distress, emotional outbursts and increasingly quarrelsome resistance to her care—and caregivers. Then comes helplessness in everyday tasks. Ed, to whom she’s been married for 40 years, patiently bears the brunt of the care and his wife’s frustrations. He manages by remembering “the phenomenal life she’s given me.” In addition to Pam’s eldest son, Banker, her son Luke and her daughter, Devon, and Devon’s own young family all pitch in to help Pam hold on to as much as she can for as long as she can.

Pam sums up who she is in a soliloquy for the camera. “I live for my family and my children,” she says. “And one little glitch is that I have developed Alzheimer’s, and initially I was quite distressed and upset about it, but it doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t really change anything. So I don’t feel sad and I don’t feel regret. I feel blessed that I have this wonderful family and a husband who is extraordinarily wonderful . . . And remembering, keeping, cherishing all the times I had with friends and family . . . it’s all good. No regrets.”

Filmmaker Banker White says, “On the surface, the film is about my family’s effort to come to terms with the changes Alzheimer’s disease brings. But it is also a meditation on the meaning of family, the power of art and the beautiful and painful ways we cope with illness and loss. The last few years have been a roller coaster of emotions, filled with frustration, sadness, joy and celebration.”

“The Genius of Marian is a reminder that we don’t often talk about the really important things until we’re in the middle of a tragedy,” says Anna Fitch, co-director and Banker’s wife, “but you don’t have to wait. Alzheimer’s give you the unique gift of time with someone you know you are going to lose. I hope our film will inspire people to connect on an intimate level with everyone they love.”

The Genius of Marian is a co-production of WeOwnTV and Impact Partners in association with American Documentary | POV.

Download photos, embed a trailer and find out more at http://www.pbs.org/pov/geniusofmarian/.