RELEASE DATES 31 MAY 2018 NL. The old man and the garden. A special, pure and moving portrait of an old man who spends his final days in his garden. Alzheimer made a contemplative gardener of the world traveler. As the seasons slip, Leo slowly returns to the beginning. As if you are experiencing the reverse process of growing a child up close, reinforced by the discoloration and baldness of nature. 'Plants all do their best', Leo explains at the beginning of the summer, while his hands glide along a man-sized shrub, 'They are like little children. Be nice, be gentle, but do not expect things they can not satisfy. "Several times a day Leo makes a round of flowers and shrubs and inspects every change carefully. He feels the leaves, follows winding stems with their hands to their origins and removes them carefully, twig for twig, everything that has to make room for new growth. Fascinated by the tenderness with which Leo dealt with the plants and flowers and how it coincided with his Alzheimer and the loss of control over his life, award-winning filmmaker Marco Niemeijer decided to film his father-in-law for a year in his garden. The ex-teacher knows his own situation often in the beginning often and poetically interpret. "Actually, I am a refugee." While this is also becoming less and the confusion and decay increase, you can not get away from a sense of beauty and solidarity of ourselves with nature. In all his intimacy, Leo and the garden stand for something bigger. A very special film. About the slow disappearance of old people and how we are connected with nature.
won prizes
NL - Amsterdam International Docu Film Festival IDFA selection
