a film by maddi emery

classic is an essay film about life’s oldest treasures, an exploration of the idea that the elderly are simply forgotten in our society and how we may be so envious of the past and treasure and preserve old artefacts like cars, but why not people.

i have always had the highest view of my grandparents and i always considered myself so lucky to have all my grandparents alive and well, i wanted to explore this idea surrounding the mistreatment of older people and how quickly people shut down the potential of the elderly and disregard their stories. i have been hearing car stories my entire life and figured that was an interesting way to explore this idea – cars are conserved and treasured, so why is this not happening to the elderly.

throughout the filming process, i had a few hiccups with COVID infections and delays because of weather however i was very happy with the interviews i did get and b-roll footage. the filming and editing timeline was quite close because of the delays in filming, so i didn’t have a lot of pondering time, i also think for future shoots i will be bringing a journal to write down snapshots of the interviewees’ answers so when i am going through and reviewing the footage i will know the best parts and specific quotes to work with. i loved meeting my gramps’ friends and speaking with them about their love of cars, it really ignited the respect i have for older people and the passion i have to share their stories.