The Genius of Marian

About the Film

The Genius of Marian is a visually rich, emotionally complex documentary about one family’s struggle to come to terms with the changes Alzheimer’s disease brings. After Pam White is diagnosed at age 61 with early onset Alzheimer’s, life begins to change, slowly but irrevocably, for Pam and everyone around her. Pam’s husband grapples with his changing role from primary partner to primary caregiver. Her adult children find ways to show their love and support while mourning the slow loss of their mother.

‘The Genius of Marian’  started as a personal project between a mother and son. In 2008, about a year before my mother’s diagnosis, she began working on a book as a tribute her mother, and my grandmother, the artist Marian Williams Steele. She titled the bookThe Genius of Marian. Over three years we dove into the project together and produced a beautiful film that also shared intimate details of how we navigated her disease progression as a family. The film premiered at the TribecaFilm Festival in 2013 and was broadcast on PBS' award-winning series, POV. We’ve been truly humbled by the love and support from our audience. My mother was a gifted social worker who devoted her life to helping others.  I can feel her pride in what we created together out of this this difficult time, , and I’m excited for this new chapter. That is what I am thinking about now, about continuing her legacy— a legacy of caring” Director, Banker White.