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Far From Home


FAR FROM HOME
(USA, 2009) Director: Elissa Yong Moon
Documentary, English, 28 minutes, captioned
World Premiere
Student Film

SYNOPSIS
Far From Home follows three individuals whose lives have been intertwined with San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital, the largest nursing home in the country. Laguna Honda is owned and operated by the City and serves as a public safety net for residents of varying ages and disabilities. But these residents prefer to live in the community rather than in Laguna Honda. Far from Home explores their struggle for independence, choice, and control over their own lives.

FROM THE DIRECTOR
"During the two years I worked on this film as a Masters project I did not have any apparent disabilities, so I was extremely conscious of my position as an outsider. Four days after graduation I broke nearly every vertebrae in my neck and incurred a spinal cord injury. Although my experience did not result in long-term institutionalization, I gained a deeper understanding of how frustrating it is to be considered a patient rather than a person and to lose choice and control over my basic life activities.

Institutionalization is typically discussed in terms of dollars and 'beds.' For example, a 2005 report from the City Controller literally notes that 'beds,' 'people,' and 'individuals' are used interchangeably.

In my research I continually came across films that focused on disability rights thematically but formally were constructed from nondisabled points of view. Therefore I pushed myself to shoot and edit in ways that would maximize viewer identification with positions of the institutionalized.

Far From Home is meant to be a conversation starter, not the last word on disability rights, independent living, or the controversy surrounding Laguna Honda.
I hope this video connects viewers to the issue through people."

REVIEWS
"San Francisco is known for living life to the fullest, so it's unsettling that right in its midst is the country's largest nursing home, where people are trapped essentially in a palace of the past. This is a well paced and nuanced portrayal of two drastically different points of view on the quality of life--a few intrepid residents v. the hospital administrators--and you will find it impossible not to take sides." - Barbara Duncan, social issues journalist and disability media specialist

"With unusual access and candor, Elissa Moon has captured the lives of three people living with disabilities, both in long-term institutionalization and in the community. Her intimate views of their lives, challenges, and aspirations form a powerful argument for the right to independent living. - B. Ruby Rich, critic and UC Santa Cruz professor

“Elissa Moon’s documentary on Laguna Honda deserves to be seen. Here you have the intersection of great advocacy and quality documentary filmmaking. Moon has a deep understanding of the issues that the re-building of this nursing home signifies to the Disability Rights Community, which has struggled for almost 20 years to move these services from nursing homes into people’s homes and communities. If every congressional representative and senator could see this film, the Community Choice Act would be passed enabling people with disabilities the ability to receive the personal care they need in their own home.” - Cyndi Jones, Publisher, MAINSTREAM Magazine 1982-1998, Director of the Center for an Accessible Society’s Media Project on: 
Disability Issues Information for Journalists

FESTIVALS, SCREENINGS & AWARDS
Screenings: Social Documentation MA thesis screening, UC Santa Cruz (2009); Human Rights Center Student Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2008)

THE PRODUCTION TEAM
Featuring: Mark Chambers, Woodrow Falls, Jr., Michael Kwok, Elissa Gershon, Roma Guy, Elizabeth Zirker
Also featuring: Thelma Acosta, Patrick Connelly, Janet Huang, Ben Kinney, Jr., Eva Llaga

Director/Producer/Editor: Elissa Moon
Associate Producer: Emily Encina

Camera/Sound: Elissa Moon
Additional Camera/Sound: Emily Encina
Production Assistance: Julia Barrett, Christopher Dioquino Guevarra, Valerie Krex
Post-Production Assistance: Marc Ramos, Tosh Tanaka, Hugh Yanuaria

Music: Ben Kinney (performer/composer), Elizabeth Cotten (composer)

Captioning/Subtitling: Elissa Moon
Cantonese Translation: Sally Ho
Archival Materials (Courtesy of): Suzanne Levine, Kenneth Stein, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

Dedicated to: Mark Chambers, Woodrow Falls, Jr., M.H., Phillip K., Gerald Scott, Mary T., The Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco
Special Thanks: ADAPT, Disability Rights California, Long Term Care Coordinating Council, San Francisco In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, San Francisco Mayor's Office on Disability