Needham Family's Struggle With Alzheimer's Focus Of Documentary At MFA

BOSTON (CBS) - The Museum of Fine Arts recently premiered The Genius of Marian, a documentary that focuses on a Needham family's struggle with their mother's Alzheimer's.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Diane Stern reports

Banker White, the filmmaker, gives audiences a personal look at the difficulties and repercussions that followed his mother Pam's, diagnosis.

"In making the film, I thought a lot about having a very honest way that looked at what our family was going through but that it also had enough space in it that people could sit and reflect and feel emotions related to things that had happened in their lives," White told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Diane Stern.

By portraying the complex and tragic disease in a public way, White attempts to alleviate some of the stigma that is typically attached to Alzheimer's, he says.

"The early stages with the shame and stigma that my mom had and the amount of effort that went into trying to cover it up was more debilitating than the dementia related symptoms," White said.

For more information on the film and screening times, visit the MFA website.