In FORGET ME NOT, leading documentary filmmaker David Sieveking (David Wants to Fly) portrays the domestic care of his mother Gretel, who, like millions of others, is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
In the film, Sieveking weaves an astonishingly candid, loving and revelatory chronicle of the changes his mothers Alzheimer's has on his family. Although dealing with his mother disease is painful, caring for her does offer him a chance to reconnect with his family and immerse himself in the secrets and passions of his parent's long and fascinating life. Some stories are heroic, while others have left a painful legacy in couples long marriage. Throughout, Sieveking's delicate handling of these revelations moves the focus of the story away from his mother's irreversible mental decline to that of a loving tribute to his mother as a human being with a remarkable life story.
"Forget Me Not is a beautiful and emotional film, one that doesn't pull the strings of your heart because it wants to, but because the reality of this family demands it. Sieveking is always respectful towards the subject matter, it is his family after all, and while for some this portrait of the mother with a sickness may feel clichéd, here it is framed with such a beauty, as a tribute to the great person that she was, and not to the woman that she has devolved into." - Jaime Grijalba Gomez, twitchfilm.com
"Made with humor and astonishing candor." - Alissa Simon, Variety
Critic's Week Prize - FF Locarno
Goethe Institut Prize - Dok Leipzig
Best Documentary, Hessian Film Award
Special Jury Price Documenta Madrid, Spain
Millennium Award Planete + Doc Film Festival, Warsaw Poland