MOTHERLAND has released the trailer for the award-winning documentary Don’t Forget to Remember, opening in select Irish cinemas on September 6th.
Don’t Forget to Remember follows the Irish street artist Asbestos, as he and his family learn to navigate his mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and cope with her fading memories. "The film is at once a moving portrait of one woman’s memory loss but also a celebration of a family coming together in the face of this condition. Throughout this process, Killeen turns the lens on Asbestos, investigating his artistic process and examining the role that art can play as a tool to heal throughout even the most turbulent times of our life."
Following his debut film Love Yourself Today, which focused on the music of Damien Dempsey, Don’t Forget to Remember is Ross Killeen’s second feature documentary.
Killeen commented “I’m delighted that our film now has the chance to be seen by a wider audience across Ireland. Making this documentary was a labour of love. My own mother had dementia and sadly passed away in 2019. I saw how it affected her but also our family and those around her who loved her. I didn't talk about it at the time and kept those feelings inside. Both myself and Asbestos are eager to encourage wider conversations about family bonds, memory, and how some connections can never be diminished.”
Asbestos commented “Making chalk drawings of my Mum’s memories, putting them on the street and asking the public to destroy them seems terrifying and extreme. Yet the act of making the drawings, and talking about each of these memories, has cemented them firmer in my mind, more than I could imagine. As much as the drawings can be destroyed, the memories live on."
Don’t Forget to Remember will be screening at the IFI Dublin, Light House Cinema Dublin, Pálás Galway, with more cinemas to be announced. The release of the film in September coincides with Alzheimer’s Awareness month.
The film premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival 2024 where it won the Audience Choice and received an Honourable Mention. It had its international premiere at the 31st edition of the renowned Sheffield DocFest. It was also featured in the Docs Ireland festival in Belfast 2024 alongside the 36th Edition of the Galway Film Fleadh.
