Growing Older in a Rural Wisconsin County is a documentary, currently in pre-production, which will explore the experience of aging in a rural area, focusing on life in Waushara County. The film will follow the lives of seniors in the county, their challenges to access quality healthcare and meaningful social networks in an isolated area, how they experience the process of aging, and the many benefits an aging population can bring to a rural community.ject Synopsis
Growing Older in a Rural Wisconsin County will be grounded in the life experiences and aspirations of older residents in Waushara County, following their day-to-day lives, supplemented by insights from experts and social service providers. Elders in rural communities are at the intersection of many significant issues of today: their lives are acutely impacted by drastic changes in the economic and societal structures which occurred in the last several decades. In their lifetimes, family-owned farms have given way to corporate businesses, careers have transformed into gigs, and retirement has ceased to offer the financial security to working class families that it once did. For those who grew up in the area, especially those involved in agriculture, they have seen their way of life fade from view. For those who settled in the area after coming from other regions, including immigrants and former seasonal farm workers, they have chosen to make a home in a place very different from the one they knew before, one which presents many language, cultural, and economic barriers to security as they age out of the workforce. The film will focus on the lives of a handful of elders in this rural area and use their specific emotional stories to explore the economic and social forces that impact elders’ lives, and the ways in which elders impact their communities in turn.
Director/Producer | Jim Winship
GROWING OLDER IN A RURAL WISCONSIN
Director/Producer | Jim Winship