{"id":884,"date":"2014-03-27T09:52:26","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T15:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cuchicago.edu\/spectator\/?p=884"},"modified":"2014-03-27T09:52:26","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T15:52:26","slug":"siskel-film-center-hosts-european-union-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/?p=884","title":{"rendered":"Siskel Film Center Hosts European Union Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Allison Sapiro<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
“Forget Me Not” is a documentary about a mother’s decline after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Gene Siskel Film Center is hosting the 17th Annual European Union Film Festival this month. Films from 26 EU nations are getting their Chicago premiere and audiences are getting to experience a bit of world culture.<\/p>\n

On March 21, the German documentary “Forget Me Not” made its Chicago debut. The film is a heartfelt, touching look at how a family deals with their mother\/wife being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. David Sieveking, the filmmaker, followed his mother after her diagnosis, wanting to share in her last years and also to learn more about who she was before she forgot.<\/p>\n

In an audience discussion after the showing, Sieveking said he made the film to spend time with his mother, but that he was also driven by a desire “to give her back her history.” Besides following his mother around, he also dug into her past, learning things about his mother, as well as his parents’ relationship. Sieveking said this “is not a film about Alzheimer’s, but about my family, love, a certain time [and] a woman who changes.” He wanted to “create a little monument to her remember her.”<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/a>
Director David Sieveking addressing the audience after the screening of “Forget Me Not.” (Allison Sapiro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked about the morality of filming someone who couldn’t decide for herself whether she wanted to be filmed, or even understand what was going on, Sieveking said that his “father was always 200 percent for the movie” and that his mother had always been supportive of him and his projects in the past. “I’m very sure she would appreciate [the film].” He also said that the filming was a good therapy for his mother and that it was good to give her attention while also giving his father a break.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Director<\/a>
(Allison Sapiro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About filming and being with his mother, who would often not remember who he was, Sieveking said, “I had to learn to get along with her. I tried to make the best of the moment.” He added that “you have to let go of the mother you know [and] get to know the new person they have become” because they don’t just forget the good things, they forget everything. His mother had a quick progression, his family seeing symptoms six years before she passed away and only being diagnosed two years after that.<\/p>\n

Sieveking said that this documentary was “a happy love film” and that he didn’t want it to be too sad. (Before the screening, he even gave the audience permission to laugh at parts). There were times that you couldn’t help smiling at her new relationship with her family, but you felt the film tug at your heartstrings as her health declined and she further lost who she was.<\/p>\n

The European Union Film Festival continues at the Gene Siskel Film Center through Thursday April 3. The Festival will close with a screening of the dark comedy “Honeymoon” from the Czech Republic. Director Jan Jrebejk will be present for an audience discussion after the film, and there will be a small reception in the lobby presented by Whole Foods Market to celebrate the conclusion of the Festival.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

In “Honeymoon,” the presence of an uninvited guest at a lavish fairytale wedding is the catalyst for the bride\u2019s second look at the man she married.<\/p>\n

Concordia’s WCGR will also be in attendance at the “Honeymoon” screening. If you would like to join them, contact Professor Susan Ericsson for more details at susan.ericsson@cuhicago.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Allison Sapiro The Gene Siskel Film Center is hosting the 17th Annual European Union Film Festival this month. Films from 26 EU nations are getting their Chicago premiere and audiences are getting to experience a bit of world culture. On March 21, the German documentary “Forget Me Not” made its Chicago debut. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[242,265,299,301,347,348,350],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-culture","tag-czech-republic","tag-documentary","tag-eu","tag-european-union-film-festival","tag-gene-siskel","tag-gene-siskel-film-center","tag-german"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}