John,

When Rebecca Danigelis was 75 she was unceremoniously fired from the hotel housekeeping job she had worked most of her life, in the very building where she raised her family. With no retirement or savings after raising and caring for two sons, she was lost, needing to find a new job and new housing at a time in her life when she least expected it, and was least prepared for it. That’s when her son, journalist and filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis, began to document her journey of searching for a new job while facing economic insecurity and ageism.

That documentation turned into Duty Free, a beautiful and heartfelt film that examines ageism, the care crisis, and economic insecurity in America while underscoring the joys of caregiving and challenging stereotypes about older adults. In the film, Rebecca and Sian-Pierre deepen their relationship and bring the joy of intergenerational bonds into our hearts as we watch them embark on a bucket list journey together so that Rebecca can experience all the things she always wanted to do but couldn’t while working. Watch the trailer for Duty Free →

Duty Free premieres this weekend virtually on IFC and at the IFC Center in New York. The first 50 Caring Across Generations supporters to buy tickets will receive a special bag of items to help them complete their own bucket list!

To be entered to win the bucket list bag, send your ticket receipt to [email protected] with the subject line “Caring Across”.

When I first saw this documentary, I thought to myself “Wow, I need to talk to my mom about her retirement and aging plan!” Like Sian-Pierre, I’m a 32 year-old living in New York, chasing my dreams and building a life for myself, so my mom’s future hasn’t exactly been top of mind for me. Until now. Like Rebecca, my mom sacrificed so much for me and my two older brothers, one who needed extra care due to mental illness and drug addiction for much of his life.

While watching Duty Free, I saw myself in Sian-Pierre and I saw my mom in Rebecca. And while some of their story made me press pause and go grab more tissues, it also made me incredibly proud to be working to shift the way we visibilize and value older adults in support of policies that combat ageism in the workplace and create safety nets for our aging population.

We have been so lucky to partner with the Duty Free team, who created a loving, deeply personal, and all too relevant film about how it feels to be treated as disposable by society because of your age, and to lack the economic resources to thrive without income as an older adult. But what Duty Free also shows so beautifully is what is possible when we take care of each other and lift each other up.

The first 50 Caring Across supporters to buy tickets will receive a free bucket list gift bag, so I hope you will buy tickets to join Sian-Pierre and Rebecca on their journey.

If you buy a ticket, don’t forget to email [email protected] with the subject line “Caring Across” to get your gift bag!

Watch Duty Free with a loved one this weekend, or next week for Mother’s Day, and be part of a “son’s love letter to his mother.”

With care,

Sarah Vitti, Culture Change Manager
Caring Across Generations

P.S. If you win a gift bag from Duty Free, their team will ship it around May 15. Buy your tickets here!