Melissa Godoy (right) and Eileen Littig received the ASA National Media Award for Do Not Go Gently at the 2008 Aging in America Conference.

Director Melissa Godoy and her mother, executive producer Eileen Littig, delve into the minds of creative elders in their documentary Do Not Go Gently: The Power of Imagination in Aging, narrated by 90-year-old television news pioneer Walter Cronkite. The film received a 2008 ASA National Media Award, which recognized the intergenerational filmmaking team for its deep look at the passion and imagination of people ages 85-plus. Shown widely at film festivals and nationwide on PBS television, the documentary is now available on DVD. In a recent interview with ASA Connection, Godoy and Littig offered insights into the making of the film -- and what they learned in the process.

What was your inspiration for Do Not Go Gently?

Eileen Littig: We had some beloved older relatives who lived into their 90s and who made an indelible mark on us. There was something fascinating and awe-inspiring about these calm and humorous souls. About 10 years after those relatives died, Melissa had interviewed a 102-year-old Catholic nun, whose words revealed a startlingly colorful dream life under her black habit and petite frame. Also, Melissa’s first interview about love with Leo Ornstein, who was 103, whetted our curiosity about the minds of inventive people as they continue to develop into very old age.

Melissa Godoy: On Christmas Day 2001, while speculating about imagination among elders, my seamstress grandmother, Rosa Littig, in her 80s at the time, passionately described how when she sews, time stops. I had done the interview with Leo Ornstein back in 1995, but now we knew it was time to move ahead on making a film. We started doing research, including looking at Gene Cohen's book The Creative Age (2001). His lifelong work showed that creativity is an ancient gift that has been accessed by people in their later years for centuries. I now see the 80s, 90s and 100s as an additional stage of human development with needs -- to learn, share and to create.

What was it like working as an intergenerational mother-daughter team?

Littig: We had worked together before on other films. Because of this, many things were intuitive when producing Do Not Go Gently -- things were done that never had to be said. The process of the producing the film evolved very naturally.

Godoy: It was great! The film was shot in six states. My mother trusted me, and we both worked very hard together on many of the more elusive, new challenges. She also understood when things did not always go well, which was helpful. When she was able to roll with the punches, it just proved to me again the benefit of age and experience.

What did you learn in the process of making this film?

Godoy: The most surprising thing I learned is how durable imagination is. And how significant the imagination is to being human -- throughout the lifecycle.

Did any of your expectations change by the end of the project?

Godoy: Because of the advanced age of the subjects, I thought that death would come into play more as a theme for the artists. Instead, I found that the natural world, the here and now, reflection on the past -- life, with all its color and noise -- endures as material.

What do you hope viewers will take away from the documentary?

Littig: That there is emerging research in the area of creative aging, and that it can be done in every community, everywhere. I learned to appreciate the beauty of the older person and that creativity is a natural part of one's life.

Godoy: That there are many ways of relating and communicating. When memories fail, there are other meaningful ways that the brain can be accessed through the imagination. People put too much stock in traditional, rational communication. Sometimes, a painting or a dance works better.

Photo: Courtesy Melissa Godoy

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