KINGSTON, R.I. – March 13, 2025 – The University of Rhode Island’s Malford Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics will feature a screening and discussion of the documentary “Optics of Aging” on Wednesday, March 26 from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. in Edwards Hall, 64 Upper College Road. The screening will be preceded by a reception at 4 p.m.

Hosted by the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center, the event is free and open to the public. Registration is requested, but not required.

Michelle Le Brun, who filmed, directed, and produced the documentary, is an adjunct professor in URI’s Harrington School of Communication and Media. She received national recognition in 1999 for her first documentary, “Death: A Love Story,” which chronicled her late husband, Mel Howard, after he was diagnosed with cancer, which ultimately took his life. The film premiered in competition at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

“It’s a great honor to partner with Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center at URI and have ‘Optics of Aging’ as part of the Malford Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics,” said Le Brun. “This is the perfect setting for the film, as it will be a room of people who know the importance of tending to our elders, as well as breaking down barriers of our own internalized ageism.”

Phillip Clark, program director of the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center, said the screening of the documentary complements the work conducted by the center.

“This event celebrates what is happening at the University to understand aging,” said Clark. “There is a large and growing effort on campus to highlight aging-related issues. URI is committed to promoting an understanding of aging and including older adults in all aspects of our academic community.”

The film features five Rhode Islanders ranging in age from 77 to 92 during the time of filming in 2019. The project was paused during the pandemic, until Le Brun returned to it in 2023.

“What I realized during the editing process was that each of the people I interviewed had done something in their lives to shape the character of Rhode Island,” said Le Brun. “That became the unifying factor in deciding who would make the final cut.”

The five Rhode Islanders in the documentary are:

• Linda Miller, the founder of Lippitt Hill Tutorial, which later became Inspiring Minds
• Morris Nathanson, co-designer of Trinity Repertory Theater, is widely recognized as the father of modern restaurant and hospitality design
• Mildred Nichols, a founding member of the Rhode Island Women’s Political Caucus
• Alvin “Aly” Stallman, an entrepreneur, Ironman triathlete, and founder of the Ocean State Marathon
• H. Philip West, the former executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island

Miller and West may join Le Brun at the URI screening.

The film premiered before a capacity audience of 250 at the Providence Public Library on Empire Street in October and a February screening was hosted by the Rhode Island Historical Society.

“The audience at the premiere was quite inspired and stayed for as much as an hour and half afterwards to discuss the themes of aging and ageism that come through ‘Optics of Aging,’” said Le Brun. “People are hungry to discuss and dissolve ageist stereotypes.”

A subject raised in the documentary is ageism, which is defined by the World Health Organization as “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.”

“I’m particularly interested in internalized ageism,” said Le Brun. “Society has told us how to be at certain ages. Unconsciously, we’ve been so conditioned to think of age in a certain way throughout an entire lifetime. If we bring awareness to that conditioning, how it lives in language and media, we can then take steps to dismantle it. In similar ways that racism, sexism, and ableism have changed language and, in turn, changed perception and policy, the same is now needed for ageism.”

While scientific research plays an important role in understanding issues related to aging, Clark said exploring the subject through the arts and humanities can be just as beneficial.

“With its narrative approach, the film ‘Optics of Aging’ helps us understand ageism and how it negatively impacts the lives, and even the health, of older adults,” said Clark. “Telling the stories of aging adults is a powerful way of identifying, confronting, and calling out ageism in all its forms.”

“Optics of Aging” will be screened at the Rhode Island Black Film Festival on April 13, the Block Island Film Festival on May 30, the Jamestown Arts Center on June 5, and the Montreal International Film Festival in August.

Le Brun’s next film will also be about aging. “It will dive into the subject of aging in a body—the way we think of our aging bodies and the way we care for our aging bodies,” said Le Brun. “It will be both a film and a memoir.”

The Malford Thewlis Lecture on Gerontology and Geriatrics was established at URI in 2006 to raise awareness, enhance knowledge, and stimulate discussion about issues related to aging, longevity, and health care for older adults. The annual lecture is named for Dr. Malford W. Thewlis, a former resident of Wakefield, Rhode Island, who is considered a pioneer in geriatric medicine, having co-founded the American Geriatrics Society in 1942.