IT'S NOT A BURDEN: The Humor and Heartache of Raising Elderly Parents is a feature-length documentary that provides an intimate look, presented with humor and heart, at the relationships between aging parents and the adult children who care for them, examining the challenges they face and the solutions they discover along the way.
EMMY® NOMINATED DIRECTOR, Michelle Boyaner, “I was hanging out with friends one evening, and instead of chatting about shows we were binge watching, or dishing about who was dating who, we found ourselves comparing notes on adult diapers and dementia medications.
We realized we’d crossed over into a strange new world we weren’t quite prepared for: we were all caring for our aging parents. They’d raised and loved us when we were most vulnerable, and now, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine – they were living a hell of a lot longer than previous generations, outlasting their bodies and retirement funds, and it was up to us, unwittingly… and in some cases unendingly - to return the favor.”
IT’S NOT A BURDEN is a documentary born from that evening. The touching, funny, and emotional film by Michelle Boyaner, chronicles her journey caring for her long-divorced parents (her mom battling dementia, her father, a hoarder). Other families’ supporting storylines-- all races, genders and backgrounds, are expertly woven throughout, showing the universal and inevitable issues, we as a nation face around the topic of aging.
Leading with humor and heart, IT’S NOT A BURDEN takes on the relatable struggles of elder-care, with truth, humor and compassion – exposing the multiple sides to this complex issue that affects so many while gently reminding us, we’re not alone.