VISION

AUDIO

DATELINE STING

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PTT

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KEEP SHOTS OF NYC STREETS/PEOPLE + ME WALKING THE STREET HERE – LOSE THE BAR/BALLROOM SHOTS  

NEW YORK CITY.....

HOME TO THE GREATEST NUMBER OF OLDER-AGED PEOPLE IN THE USA…

1

MORE STREET GVS/SHOTS OF OLDIES AND ME WALKING HERE LIKE IN OLDER EDITS

AFTER 2 YEARS OF ISOLATION… THEY’RE BACK LOOKING FOR LOVE

SHOW HATTIE PUTTING ON LIPSTICK HERE + THEN REVEAL IN IV SET UP FOR THE LAST WORDS “I WANT TO BE FELT!”

HATTIE/ I’m bored, I want physical, I want interaction, I want to feel, I want to be felt! 00.08.09

2

THEN SHOW HATTIE GETTING IN CAB + ZIPPING THROUGH CITY IN YELLOW CAB

SHAKING OFF THIR FRAIL AND VULNERABLE IMAGE, THEY’RE NAVIGATING DATING AND SEX ON A RENEWED QUEST FOR INTIMACY…

HATTIE IN SITU

01:15:32:13 CALLISTE/ So this is your bachelorette pad?

01:15:36:11 Well, this is the bed that makes me not a bachelorette.

01:15:45:11 Calliste/ Really?

H/Whatever your mind can come up with. Its too clean!

ESTABLISH SPEED DATING  HERE + THEN SHOW MAHENDRA IN SPEED DATING

So, are we ready, gang? Start talking!

Cal/ does the idea of casual sex terrify on some level?

01:01:08:20 ……//M/ I guess my only anxiety would be that you know, I would worry about my performance.

//

And it's very easy for people to be critical of a guy, right? 01.01.43

3

1-2 MANHATTAN GVS AGAIN HERE AND WALKING SHOT OF ME AGAIN BEFORE THE PTC

WITH STUDIES SUGESTING PEOPLE AGED 65-80 ARE HAVE BETTER SEX THAN THE YOUNG…

I’VE COME HERE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DATE POST PANDEMIC CAAND POST- MIDDLE AGE.

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TITLE GRAPHIC

SENIOR SEX & THE CITY

By Calliste Weitenberg, Bruno Frederico and Sissy Reyes

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CAL AT SENIOR SPEED DATING EVENT

ESTABLISH HOW THE PANDEMIC IS MAKING OLD PEOPLE DATE AGAIN

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DRONE OF MANHATTAN CITY

WILL NEED TO PURCHASE THIS

DAY2 C1 00.17.12 Cal driving shots

00.16.54 driving shot out window

MUSIC + NATSOT

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DAY02C1 00.21.54 Pub Exterior

00.26.09 Gail setting up 

00.27.15 Gail putting sheets on tables \

MUSIC - LIGHT/ANTICIPATION

00.26.33 Gail/ Right these sheets have all the mens names. And the pink sheets have all the womens names. 00.26.37

This is Gail Adams, she’s been running speed dating events in NYC for 14 years. 

00.27.13 Put the women on the inside men on the outside.

Alt/ Mostly aimed at those under the age of 40…

And. Ok that’s our set up for today!

Today’s event is for those aged between 57 to 72….

8

GAIL IN SITU IV +

CALLI REVERSALS

01.37.13 WS of bar

00:46:01:03 CALLI/And so what is the turnout generally like for this age bracket?

01:33:45:13 GAIL/ This age demographic when COVID hit was like freaked out, okay? They like they were done. They were like, oh, I'm out here because I'm going to die because I'm over 60 and I can't get COVID. So I was dead. I was dead in the water. 01:34:05:03 And then once things opened up again, they came back.

//

10

00.46.52 WS of attendees

00.39.15 Shot of attendees standing around

00.46.24 Attendees standing around

00.46.31 CU Of form on table

00.39.21 Gail/ Hi how are you what’s your name? Lorri!

//

After two years of fear and uncertainty, tonight Gail’s expecting 20 mature aged singletons.

ALT/ After two years of fear and uncertainty, New York is experiencing a dating boom. And tonight Gail’s expecting 20 mature-aged singletons.

11

00.54.35 Attendees minging with drinks

Upsot of chitchat

In Situ Voxpop Joanne

00:42:26:04 J/ I am so excited. I'm always excited to come to one girl's events. I just love Gail and everyone else.

Joanne is 69 years old.

Married for 25 years, she recently became single when her husband died following a surgical procedure.

00:40:45:03 JOANNE/The idea is you have to internalize your healing. You have to heal yourself. So, yeah, it was a big hole in my heart. It felt like, you know, somebody ripped part of it out. And I'm slowly but surely meeting nice people. And even if I just walked away with friends, I don't know, it's a good secure feeling. You know, who doesn't need friends?

12

In Situ Voxpop with Mahendra

00:47:39:20 M/ I've never done this is my first time. In fact, one of my friends who I met at one of the Church of Friends so he he came to these events. He said, try it. So I said, all right. So it's my first time. I'm really scared. You know, Yeah, I'm nervous. You know.

//

Mahendra is 58 years old, he’s been divorced and single for four years.

00:48:34:00 C/so what are you looking for tonight? What are you hoping to find?

00:48:37:08 M/ Honestly, companionship/ people don't realize it's really hard, you know, especially like evening times. Like, you know, you go to like a depression phase where, you know, you're alone, you're making dinner and you're sitting by yourself. So somebody to fill out that time and hopefully, you know, build an emotional connection with somebody that would be nice.

//

00:49:18:19 M/ ……// now I work from home. I have a computer at home, so it's even more isolating.

13

Cal at table PTC

CAL PTC/ 01.46.23 So the participants in the room tonight have all come with a real variety of lived experience. But they’re here for one reason and that’s the hope of finding a connection.

14

00.57.58 WIDE OF EVYERONE SEATED

00.59.53 shot of many looking at paper

MUSIC

00.58.03 Gail/ Hereye hereye! Speed dating we are all here at speed dating.

//

00.58.33 So we have an equal balance of men and women yay! Everyone showed up today.

//

01.00.50 So, are we ready, gang? Yes. Are we set? Start talking!

15

Slow mo pix

MUSIC

16

01.01.15 Olay of people chatting + 01.01.42 Mahendra and Joanne

Despite months on end with almost no physical contact, tonight, attendees have just seven minutes to make an impression before swapping partners. 

Mahendra/ If you’re not going to have kids I don’t see any reason to get married. But I agree with you I think one needs to be committed to a relationship.

Joanne/ And each day you build and build.

Mahendra/ 100%.

17

01.10.05 Man/ So what do you do in your spare time? You still working?

//

01.08.17 Charles/ I have a son, he’s 35, not married, I would like to have a grandchild but unfortunately hasn’t happened yet.

//

01.09.01 Julie/ Oh wow, interesting… (looking bored).

//

18

01.04.20 Date ends + partner moves

01.04.20 Gail Upsot/ BELL RINGS What does that mean. Means it’s time to move! There are more ladies to meet.

01.04.43 Gail/ Charles we got somebody waiting. OK!

20

Joanne + Charles catch up mid date

01.20.51 CU of Joanne and Charles hands touching on table

01.18.27 Calli/ Have you seen anyone that looks interesting? Joanne/ I’ve seen a few gentleman that have tickled my interest.

//

01.18.37 Call/ Can I ask who? Gail/ you’re looking at one here. Really. Yes he’s very good looking.

Call/ And Charles How is it going for you tonight?

01.19.06 Charles/ I feel very comfortable talking to her. Seems we have similar interests. Its just the comfortability. I just feel comfortable.

Cal/ Was there an instant connection?

J/ Yeah I looked into his eyes and look at them! He’s good looking! *Laughs* 01.19.53

SHOT OF MAHENDRA GETTING UP

NATSOT  

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MAHENDRA IN SITU

[01:25:12] How is it going tonight?  M/ I'm actually enjoying myself! Really. [01:25:21]

//

[01:25:42] C/ Is there anyone who has caught your eye? Any marriage material?

[01:25:46] M/ I dunno about marriage but I think - what's her name - number 4. Joanne! Yeah. Actually I met her when she walked in. She's bubbly and stuff.

so we'll see how that goes. //

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01.27.30 GAIL GIVES END INSTRUCTIONS

01.28.01 MAN WRITING ON PAPER

01.28.18 CU HAND WRITING ON PAPER

01.28.53 WOMAN PACKS UP PURSE

01.28.56 WOMAN GETS UP FROM TABLE AND LEAVES

01.29.12 JOANNE LEAVING

01.30.06 CHARLES AND JOANNE AT THE BAR

After an hour and a half of introductory chats, the event wraps up.

Everyone must now wait to find out if they made a match.

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MANHATTAN GVS + GFX STATS

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DAY02C1 ICONIC MANHATTAN SKYLINE + PEOPLE GVS /COUPLES TAKING SELFIES + WALKIGN ALONG PROMENADE

MUSIC /TRANSITON

As life here returns to normal, the pandemic has caused a dating reset.

According to A RECENT SURVEY BY MATCH.COM Singles have changed their sexual, romantic and life priorities.

They’re not only dating, but dating with more intention.

And this includes older singles, AGED 80-98, who experienced some of the harshest impacts of the pandemic.

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MR CHUNG

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DRONE SHOTS

MUSIC - GENTLE/REFLECTIVE

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DAY 04 C1 MR CHUNG WALKING THROUGH CHINATOWN

+          MASTER IV

SUBREEL 2  

THOUGHT TRACK // DAY- 04 C1 MASTER IV

[19:56:09] I was feeling even lonelier during the pandemic. I didn’t go out for six or seven months. I was home alone, right.

Like being locked up in a jail. I couldn’t go out.

Every day I heard ambulances speed past, sirens blaring. People living alone felt lonelier during the pandemic.

DAY 04 CU SHOTS MR CHUNG WAITING AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS

THEN WALKS TO PARK

Mr Chung is 80 years old.

Living in the heart of New York’s Chinatown, he’s surrounded by millions but he spent months during the pandemic afraid to step outside.

Like many in his generation, this isolation was also compounded by grief.

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 DAY 04C1 MASTER IV

+         CAL REVERSALS

DAY04C1 [02:34:00] I married my late wife in 1983. She, passed away in 2016.

//

[09:36:12] She had a fall and went to hospital. Two weeks later, she died. 

//

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OLAY WITH MR CHUNG ON PARK BENCH WATCHING OLD CHINESE MUSICIAN

CUT AWAY TO SHOTS OF OTHER OLD PEOPLE IN THE PARK

[11:43:12]After her passing, I was suffering quite a bit. I found it hard to let go. I thought about the past…

//

[15:49:12] My mind was abuzz with so many thoughts, from all that time we were together. And then I was on my own, feeling lonely.

//

[10:47:12] When things happen, you don’t have anyone to discuss it with.

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MR CHUNG ON PARK BENCH WATCHING CHINESE MUSICIAN + GVS OF OLD PEOPLE/PARK

Now Mr Chung is a widower, and reconnecting doesn’t come easy.

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DAY4 C1 GVS IN COLUMBUS PARK + MASTER IV

01:10:47 When I was young, going on a date with my girlfriends I’d wear nice clothes, comb my hair, see how I looked in the mirror. I even walked with more spirit.01:11:02

//

01:07:52 When one’s old, there’s more illness and pain.

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CAL ON SUBWAYS

Explore the problem of loneliness in NY for elderly people and the need for companionship

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CAL ON SUBWAYS

DAY05C2

00.03.08 subway shot

00.04.17 cal on phone on train platform

00.04.37 cal face looks up

00.05.13 train pulls up

00.05.29 cal gets on train

00.06.26 cu passenger

00.07.21 cu another passenger

00.08.28 CU manahattan out window

00.09.19 CU female passenger

MUSIC+ BREATH

This experience of isolation is a big reason for the older generation’s renewed search for love.

In the first WAVE of the pandemic, COVID19 turned physical human contact into a potentially mortal threat.

And getting close enough to breathe on another person became synonymous with danger.  

Starved of affection, there are some hoping to make up for lost time.  

34

HATTIE AT HOME

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DAY05 C2 REVEAL CAL DRIVING ACROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE + CITY SHOTS OUT WINDOW

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DAY01C1 [01.14.49] CAL + HATTIE MEET AND GREET

 Mr began looking to reconnect.

01:14:53:11 C/ Hi Hattie.. HI darling… How you doing… good to meet you. Come in… 01:15:00:04

//

At 86, Hattie calls herself a super cougar..

Divorced when she was in her 50s, she’s been casually dating for over 30 years.

01:15:32:13 CALLISTE/ So this is your bachelorette pad?

01:15:36:11 HATTIE/ Well, I hate to say it was that way, but it is. Well, this is the bed that makes me not a bachelorette.

01:15:45:11 Calliste/ Really? Tell me about what happens on this bed?

01:15:47:02 H/Oh, no, honey, it's everything but whatever your mind can come up with. Its too clean.

//

She has kids and grandkids, but Hattie says she still enjoys a very active sex life.

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DAY01_C1 HATTIE SHOWS COUGAR PIC + SEX ITEMS

+         01.56.46 CAL REAX

//(jump cut to drawer opening)

​​01:51:29:15 HATTIE/ In the drawer next to the bed, I happen to have a supply of condoms I have a crystal dildo, I don't like plastic, I have tit clips. //

01.55.19 Cal Reversal/ I’ve never used a tit clip before what do you do with that?. H/ Well you’re still alive so we have hope for you!

//

01:52:12:14 HATTIE/You put them on your nipple. Like this. And then you could pull it to stimulate you.

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OLAY THIS WITH SHOTS OF PORTRAITS AROUND THE HOUSE

[01:11:00] CU SHOTS OF FRAMED HATTIE PIX + WS OF PHOTOS ON WALL 

[01:12:49] CU OF HATTIE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO 

THOUGHT TRACK/  00:44:55:05 Hattie/  So I'm both cursed and blessed with a powerful sex drive, and it's wonderful.

DAY 01 C1 MASTER IV THOUGHT TRACK/  

00.30.41 CALLISTE/ What does it give you? 00:30:48:04 HATTIE/ Oh my God, the nakedness. Skin on skin. Every pore in my body explodes with life.

41

HATTIE MASTER IV

OLAY THIS WITH SHOTS OF HATTIE AND YOUNG PPL + SHOTS OF GUYS PLAYING POOL/OTHER YOUNG MEN IN THE BAR

GO TO FULL SCREEN FOR THIS 00:32:37:10 HATTIE/Because it's life, darling. It's the most important thing in life.00:33:04:02

//

00.33.47 it's flower gardens. It's rainbows, it's thunder, it's lightning, it's the ocean, it’s everything to me. 00:33:56:16

42

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DAY01C1 OBJECTS IN HATTIE’S HOUSE

01.05.42 GABBANA PICTURE

01.05.26 COLOURFUL HEELS

MUSIC + NATSOT

A 2018 survey by the University of Michigan found 40% of people ages 65-80 are sexually active.

Whether or not they have an active sex life, nearly two-thirds of older adults said they’re interested in sex and more than half say sex is important to their quality of life.

But for Hattie this was unravelled by the pandemic.

44

00.41.51 CU HATTIE PUTS ON SHOES

00.42.20 HATTIE PUTS ON EARRINGS

00.43.17 HATTIE PUTS THINGS IN BAG

THOUGHT TRACK DAY01C1 00:05:01:19 HATTIE/ Because of the pandemic everything has changed.

45

00.43.58 HATTIE WALKING THROUGH LOBBY

00.44.23 HATTIE LEAVES APARTMENT + HAILS CAB

00.06.06 Before the pandemic people want to screw.

00.43.58 Upsot/ Hello dear.

THOUGHT TRACK/ 00.06.50 Hattie/ The pandemic changed just because of illness, sickness, viruses. Then all of a sudden the act of making love had so many cautions… attached to it. People still were self-conscious about their tits or their smells or their bodies or their weight or the guy the size of his dick, whether it would stay hard, whatever. But when you add virus to that, we're talking life and death, and it takes away a lot of the abandon. 00:07:28:13

//

00.07.34 So  /// I wasn’t gonna fuck, too dangerous during the pandemic….But i’m bored! I want physical, I want interaction, I want to feel, I want to be felt! 00.08.09

46

00.49.53 HATTIE GETS IN CAB

00.52.35 HATTIE LOOKING OUT CAB WINDOW ZOOMING THROUGH THE CITY

00.54.45 SHOT OUT WINDOW

Upsot/ Thank you. *Door closes*

MUSIC + NATSOT BREATH

47

00.55.09 HATTIE GETS OUT OF CAB

01.16.04 HATTIE ENTERS BAR + DANCES WITH PATRONS

01.16.04 Upsot Hattie nice to meet you welcome to rays…

48

Alt/ When she was married, Hattie says she and her husband had a healthy sex life that lasted 25 years.

As the city opens back up, she’s looking to find this again.

DAY01C1 THOUGHT TRACK 00.03.55 because I was married and because I had my husband in bed fucking twice a day for years, that's what I wanted again.00:04:13:12 So //

00.08.40 I still want a man. I still want something like my husband. 00:08:43:19 A steady dick.

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CATCH UP WITH MAHENDRA FROM THE SPEED DATERS

53

DRONE

GO TO ME ARRIVING AT MAHENDRA’S HERE

DAY 06C1 00.06.03 CAL GETS OUT OF CAR +

00.07.12 CAL AT DOOR

MUSIC

WHILE HATTIE”S ON THE PROWL FOR CASUAL SEX, but not everyone has her hutzpah.

With signs some at the speed dating event were forming connections, I’m keen to follow up with Mahendra.

To find out if he made a match and how he feels about the possibility of sex.

54

00.24.09 CU TURNS ON STOVE

+ 00.24.58 CU MAHENDRA FACE

00.33.13 CAL WATCHNG

00.24.22 CU SAUCEPAN + MAHENDRA COOKING

00.24.22 CU STIRRING FOOD ON STOVE

00.07.19 CAL/ Hello! How are you doing Mahendra good to see you.

//

00:08:36:02 M/ So this is okra and Hungarian pepper, which I grew in the garden. The onions.

00.09.33 So I try to keep it as authentic as possible, but I enjoy it because you know what? When you're alone This is like an activity.

//

55

CAL AND MAHENDRA IN THE KITCHEN CHAT

00:33:53:23 Cal/ So Mahindra. I'm dying to know what was the upshot of the speed dating

00:43:28:03 Cal/ Did you have any matches?

//

00:33:59:22 M/So I… I met one, one woman//…../and we met for drinks also. And that was interesting.

00:34:21:23 C/Interesting in what way?

00:34:22:22 M/ Uh, got carried away at the bar, I guess yeah, but it was fine.

00:34:31:06 C/And you did you make out?

00:34:33:00 M/Yeah, basically. Which I've never thought I’d do in my entire life.

//

00:37:36:02 M/ She was left with like a sort of a teasing, you know, text message. a little bit sexually provocative, I guess. Really? Yeah. So I just said, hmm, you know.

//

00:38:38:03 M/ I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do with that

//

00:39:53:15 C/ why haven't you taken her up on her offer yet?

00:40:01:13 M/ Oh, like you mean like just to have sex or something? I probably could have.

00:40:06:11 M/ It's been a while. I'm just. Yeah. That's an interesting question. I don't know. I don't know why I haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. Yeah.CA

00.31.59 CU COOKING BREAD

 00.32.28 MAHENDRA PUTS BEAD ON PLATE

00.44.41 MAHENDRA PUTS BREAD ON TABLE

00.45.41 MAHENDRA POURS BUBBLES

Four years since his divorce, two of which were spent alone in the pandemic, I’m curious to know if this has caused any anxiety.

56

CAL AND MAHENDRA CHAT OVER LUNCH

OLAY WITH LISTENING + VARIOUS EATING SHOTS

00.49.46 CU OF FOOD IN MAHENDRA’S HAND + M EATS

00.48.36 MAHENDRA EATING + CAL SERVING HERSELF

00.47.14 CU OF MAHENDRA EATING + CAL EATING

00.49.53 MAHENDRA EATS MOUTHFUL

00.53.04 MAHENDRA LISTENING

00.53.17 CAL LISTENING

00.53.56 MAHENDRA NODS LISTNEING

01.31.03 CAL LISTENING SHOTS

Cal/ does the idea of casual sex terrify on some level or like do you feel anxiety around that?01:01:08:20

//

01:01:08:20 ……//M/ I guess my only anxiety would be that you know, I would worry about my performance. I guess let's put it this way.01:01:21:14

//

01:01:29:31 Like, you know, I mean. Maintaining in maintaining an erection I guess,01:01:33:18 I don't know, like, you know, performance in bed, like, you know, things like that. You know, you worry about like you think about it, right? 01.01.40 And it's very easy for people to be critical of a guy, right? 01.01.43

//

01:01:47:00 M/At the end of the day, the absolute, you know, pressure goes on a guy because he has to maintain an erection right or wrong.

//

01:02:45:07// …//You know, like, oh, how long am I going to be able to keep it up? Or like, you know, and what about after the whole thing?

//

57

01.31.40 CAL CU LISTENING

01.31.50 NON SYNC WIDE

At the heart of Mahendras’ reluctance, its not just performance anxiety, there’s emotional baggage too.

58

OLAY WITH LISTENING + VARIOUS EATING SHOTS

01:04:48:17 M/ that comes up. Yeah. And that's the thing like it's it's you know, people don't realize the damage. A bad relationship can do it really. It's like it's like PTSD, right?....//

01:05:12:17 M// When you go to a lot of crap in your life, it affects you. So when I'm with the person, like like in my marriage, in my marriage, like there were some things that were said that were not nice. Let's just put it that way. Those memories come back like when you are with somebody else, right? And it affects like the way you perform or how it would be with somebody else. 01:05:46:10 M//It really does. It's very traumatic. You know, it's hard.

//

59

XN

But Mahendra hasn’t yet given up on the idea of intimacy.

60

01:20:34:15 M/ And I thought about that. *CRIES* And then I asked myself a simple question, like, we if you are a kind of person who wants to enjoy all the flavors of life, like, to me, being in love and being intimate is something that I never really had. So before I die I'd like to have that you know, this other stuff doesn't matter. You know, honestly.

62

MANHATTAN GVS

63

MOVE DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN SEQUENCE HERE

//

DAY 03 C1 00.08.54 MANHATAAN DOWNTOWN

00.08.42 YELLOWBUS

00.03.53 TRAFFIC LIGHT

00.04.43 BUSY STREET

00.05.27 CYCLIST

00.09.12 CU PEOPLE

+

00.15.14 CAL WALKING THROUGH CITY

MUSIC + HEARTFELT

Mahendra isn’t alone in feeling this way.

Right across Manhattan, whether rich or poor, there are older singles struggling to experience the physical intimacy they so desperately crave.

64

REBECCA TOROSIAN AT SEX MUSEUM

Explore how and why sex/intimacy can be tricky when old

65

CAL PTC 01.16.34 CU OF MUSEUM OF SEX SIGN

01.13.10 CAL WALKS PAST SEX OBJECTS

DAY03C1 01.15.20 CAL PTC/ To learn more - I’ve come here to New York’s Museum of Sex to meeting someone trained in the art of intimacy.

00.41.37 SHOTS OF CAL + REBECCA WALKING INTO EXHIBIT

00.45.57 MONKEY WITH PENIS

00.42.40 CU OF CAL + REBECCA LOOKING AT DISPLAY

Rebecca Torosian is an intimacy behavioural therapist.

She helps people of all ages, including those between the ages of 50-80, who are dealing with wide variety of intimacy issues.

66

REBECCA MAIN IV + CAL REVERSALS

00.19.10 You know, I've heard many times people go on dates and of all ages but older. And then when they get along with the person really well, they're terrified because they know soon sex is going to come up.00:31:59:04 R/And so when they sense that's coming, they're out. You know, they break it off and yet they really want it.

67

01.08.59 CU OF PPL LOOKING AT DISPLAY

01.09.30 CU OF ASIAN EROTIC ART

01.07.28 CU OF DILDO

Rebecca says there can be many reasons why someone in their golden years can react this way.

68

CAL AND REBECCA WALKING THROUGH THE MUSEUM + LOOKING AT EXHIBITS

IN SITU STANDING IV + CAL REVERSALS

00:37:54:23 C/How exactly does aging change or impact the way we express intimacy?

//

00:28:01:04 R/ there is a thing called aging sexuality, and it's real. You know, it has to do with gravity. Right. So, I mean, everyone ages, the body ages. Right. So, for example, a man's erection that used to be at like, you know, straight up and down may now be a little bit half, you know, mast.

//

Other problems, too, like illnesses, prostate, for example. Enlarged prostate. Or maybe people who have had to have surgery…

//

69

Rebecca says these physical changes can interfere with developing and maintaining an intimate relationship causing moments of shame, shyness or withdrawal.

But there are a number of emotional and cognitive changes that can trigger this too.

70

Rebecca In situ Standing IV

+         Cal reversals

00:29:33:03 R/So, for example, I've worked with people, older people who recently widowed and or maybe not so recently widowed, but really trying to find their way through the grief and the loss

//

00:29:58:08 R/ There are people who have been through really traumatic breakups, divorces, separations, where they they've been betrayed. And so there's honestly, there's rage. Um And but I think chief among it is, you know, grief. // 00.30.23

//

So I think what keeps people is they often then just go into avoidance. /

//

71

Rebecca says these barriers to physical intimacy can increase as we age. The very stage in life, when it’s perhaps never been more important.

DAY03C2 00:05:28:24 as one gets older,

your relatives, your friends, people start dying.

//

DAY03C1 00.25.52 I think that that is if anything, maybe the desire for intimacy maybe increases particularly maybe as people get older and begin to lose maybe some of their social fabric.

72

HATTIE CATCH UP RE DATING AT HOME

73

02.06.07 Hattie enters salon

NATSOT + MUSIC

74

02.10.20 Hattie gets leg massage

02.10.39 CU hattie smiling

02.10.51 CU hattie feet CU + beautician

00.06.14 Cutaways of polishes

00.06.22 Sign on wall

Hattie in Salon chair/ 02.11.08/ H/ Once I week I come it’s a great treat I have allowed myself.

02.12.13 As the body gets older it still wants sensation. Like babies get held, oiled, all that. My body wants to be contacted. It wants sensation, my skin wants to be oiled and brushed and touched.

I’m receiving that love. It’s care. 02.12.43

//

75

DAY01C2 00.01.45 Finishing up foot massage

Upsot Grace/ Ooh la la sexy body.

76

DAY01C2 Hattie putting on make up in mirror

Back with Hattie, she’s still determined to find a younger man to satiate her sexual desires.

But I’m curious to know if her search is prompted by more than just a thirst for pleasure.

78

OLAY THIS WITH SHOTS OF HATTIE WALKING IN STREET

MASTER IV - CUT TO FULL SCREEN? - OR ELSE WILL NEED TO FIND ALT OLAY

DAY01C1 MASTER IV  / 00.37.22 Do you ever experience loneliness?

00:37:27:11 H /Oh, constantly. I experience loneliness constantly.

00:59:26:23H/ When you, me, desire intimacy as much as I do when you don't have it you really feel something major. Major is missing from real life. So.  // 00.59.59 when I don't have it, I can admit, it is painful.

//

01:00:04:05 C/ When does the loneliness hit for you and what does it look like?

01:00:14:13 H/ Well, I'll give you a perfect example. I'm going to be lonely after this interview. Because what happens is the closeness that I feel with you and with the cameraman, it’s intimate, so when it's over, I'm going to feel lonely.

79

DAY01C1 OBJECTS IN HATTIE’S HOUSE

01.05.42 GABBANA PICTURE

01.05.26 COLOURFUL HEELS

NATSOT + MUSIC

Deep down, I sense Hattie is a romantic and I sense what she’s really looking for isn’t so much as sex, but committed intimacy and love.   

80

DAY01C1 HATTIE AND CAL IN KITCHEN LOOKING AT PHOTO + POEM ON WALL

 01.08.22 CU of poem on board

01.08.45 HATTIE/ (reading poem) I lost the angel who gave me summer the whole winter through. I lost the gladness that turned into sadness when I lost you. 01:08:54:17 H/ That was written by Irving Berlin in 1912. And the romanticism of that to this day makes me tear up that. 01:09:05:10 That’s love.

//

01:07:07:11 C/ I think you're a little bit of a romantic.

01:07:09:09 H/ I am very much of a romantic. Totally a romantic, totally./

81

MR CHUNG AT BALLROOM

How Frank finds intimacy + connection + a sense of community at ballroom dancing

82

DAY04C2 01.16.39 EXTERIOR OF CHUNG’S APARTMENT

01.16.28 “I LOVE YOU

” MURAL

Music + Reflective/Warm

The search for love AND INTIMACY is timeless. But it the took the pandemic to show us why.

It’s a prescription, at all ages, for better connection - so we may elude loneliness - to live our best, longest lives.

But intimacy can take many forms. And finding someone to share your bed, is not the only way to find connection.

83

DAY 04C1 MR CHUNG AT HOME GETS SHIRT + BUTTONS UP IN MIRROR + GELS AND BRUSHES HIS HAIR

Music + Natsot + Reflective warm

84

DAY 04 C1 EXTERIOR SHOT CHUNG CROSSING ROAD

THOUGHT TRACK MR CHUNG [25:32:07] In terms of overcoming loneliness, luckily, more than one year ago, when the pandemic calmed down a bit, I went out and walked along the Division Street, and I met the boss of the Imperial Ballroom next door, Ming. He said we have opened up, you come in for some dances.I went there to have some fun and I became a bit happier.

85

DAY04C2 EXT MR CHUNG ENTERS BALLROOM

01.04.01 CU OF BALLROOM SIGN

00.43.53 welcome to imperial sign

00.59.33 pull focus imperial sign

THOUGHT TRACK DAY04 C1

86

DAY04C2

00.19.32 CHUNG APPROACHES PARTNER TO DANCE + DANCING VISION

MUSIC BREATH

Under neon lights and a disco ball, Mr Chung and other senior amateurs come together to  delight in their love of dancing.

87

01.01.10 CU OF CHUNG WATCHING DANCERS

00.59.00  OLAY OF DANCER 

SLOW MO SHOTS OF MR CHUNG DANCING WITH HIS PARTNER

+ OTHER OLDER BALLROOM DANCERS

MR CHUNG/ 01:16:53 The Imperial Ballroom is a place for me to dance and I can also make some friends.

[33:45:07] I like ball room.

[35:55:07] The movements, the people’s bodies. the instructors are following the music closely. They are really very elegant. , the way the instructors move.

END ON BALLROOM SHOTS

Where there is a tangible sense of community, there is also a place to feel less alone.

And like countless other older aged singles, together they’re not hesitating to make the most of the time they have left.

SUBREEL 4

DAY04C2 JOELENE/

01.20.52 When I dance, I let go of myself. I forget the worries I have.

I don’t remember anything except dancing.

Many people feel the same way as me. So they come here every week.

//

SUBREEL 4

DAY04C2

01.03.17 Reporter/ Mr Chung, you’re a very good dancer!

Chung/ [laugh] I really had fun. I did some exercise. 01.03.30

01.10.10 We dance with friends. We feel great if we’re dancing in step. 01.10.25

//

SUBREEL 4

57:32:04] My life right now is rather… very pleasant.