Brennan Vance. Photo: Chris Emeott
Documentary filmmaker highlights the work of unsung caregivers.
Brennan Vance can’t help but pause when someone calls him a documentary filmmaker. Even though he has a couple of documentaries under his belt, the whole experience feels relatively new. “I still don’t identify as a documentarian. It was an accident that I fell into documentaries,” Vance says.
Vance’s latest documentary is the Regional Emmy Award-winning, How to Care. It premiered at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival in April and had a second screening at the Edina Mann Theatre in May. It can currently be seen on PBS and follows Dan Stallsworth, a 75-year-old artist with cerebral palsy, and his caregivers while offering a glimpse of the human side of care work. “The goal was to show the positive effects of care,” he says. “Show these people in their fullness, their amazingness. It was an exciting challenge.”
A Camera and a Story
Vance, who graduated from Edina High School in 2003, grew up loving films. “I thought Jurassic Park was the greatest thing ever,” he says. “Then I found films that changed my DNA, films like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Punch Drunk Love and The Royal Tenenbaums.”
In his 20s, Vance moved to New York City to pursue film work, but the reality of making movies quickly put him in his place. “It’s expensive and time-consuming to make fiction work,” he says. Documentary films were another story. “With a camera, a couple [of] people and a good story, you can make a documentary,” Vance says. “And it can be even more resonant. To tell a story through someone else’s eyes is like walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.”
How to Care offers a glimpse into the life of Dan Stallsworth and his caregivers Mel Jones (top), Dolphine Momanyi (middle), Sam Subah (bottom), Jessica Dzielinksi and Lisa Riley (not pictured). Photos: Brennan Vance
Finding the right subject matter was Vance’s first hurdle when tackling documentary work. Then, his father was diagnosed with early-onset dementia. “It was a tenuous relationship,” he says. “But there was this short window of time, and my impulse was, whatever happens, I’m going to film it.” The result was a 30-minute documentary film called Like Father. Vance says only a couple [of] dozen people have ever seen it, but making it changed everything. “It was therapeutic in ways,” he says. “It was an adventure. It made me confident that this was something I could pursue.”
Vance used the film to get a grant to continue his work in documentaries. “It opened me up to the idea that reality is a lot more interesting,” he says. “There’s a rich, visual art to real-life stories.”
The Right Story at the Right Time
After months searching for his next project, Vance was approached by Jon Hallberg, a family medicine physician and medical director at University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic. Hallberg suggested creating a documentary about caregivers. It was an idea that had already been sitting in the back of his mind after watching his father’s illness progress. “It was an emphatic yes,” Vance says.
Then Vance met Stallsworth and his caregivers at Living Well Disability Services in Inver Grove Heights. “Within 30 seconds of meeting, [Stallsworth] was trying to sell me one of his paintings,” Vance says with a warm laugh. “There was so much joy, so much fun. People genuinely seemed to love each other. I wondered, ‘Is it possible to capture this on film?’”
A sampling of Dan Stallsworth’s paintings, which he creates at his day program. There is a whole section about the day program and how Stallsworth brings his creativity to life in Brennan Vance’s How to Care. Photo: Living Well
Vance filmed for five or six days, capturing the ins and outs of a day with Stallsworth. The film also captures Stallsworth talking to local lawmakers about continued funding for his kind of care. “It was the best directing job I’ve ever had,” Vance says. “These people were ready to tell their story. It was like lightning in a bottle.”
But the highlight of the experience was watching the film with Stallsworth and the caregivers at Living Well’s Cloman House. “It was the greatest screening of my life,” Vance says. “I knew they felt seen.”
Brennan Vance filming during Disability Services Day at the Minnesota State Capitol. Photo: Brennan Vance
To Be Truly Seen
For Dan Stallsworth, the man at the center of the documentary How to Care, seeing himself on film was a unique experience. “It made me feel like a man with abilities instead of disabilities,” he says.
Stallsworth says he was honored to be a part of the documentary and share part of his life with an audience. “I want people to know how life is for someone in a wheelchair,” he says. “I wanted people to see how people in wheelchairs live their lives at home and in the community.”
Sam Subah, one of Stallsworth’s caregivers featured in the film, also wanted to shed light on his life and his work. “I felt that the documentary was an excellent opportunity to make people understand the importance of the work we do,” he says. “I have been doing this for over 30 years, and this was one opportunity I had to allow others to see how fulfilling it is to work with the people we serve.”
Subah has known Stallsworth for eight years and describes him as “exceptional.” “He’s always happy regardless of what comes his way,” he says. “His cup is always half full, and no matter who he meets in his path, he brings light to their world.”
While at times the job of providing care for Stallsworth can be physically exhausting, Subah says getting to know Stallsworth has been one of the best experiences of his career. “It’s always laughter, joy and happiness whenever I see [Stallsworth],” he says. “It never feels like work to me; it always feels like a place to hang out and have fun.”
Subah says that Vance’s film brought tears to his eyes. “[Vance] captured the most important piece, and it was about the people we serve,” he says. “I hope that the viewers can take away the importance of making a difference in someone’s life means more in this line of work than the wages we make.” He encourages people to watch the film and learn more about people with disabilities and their caregivers. “Invest, reach out and make a difference,” he says.
“People are no different from each other in this world,” Stallsworth says. “We should all find a way to care/love each other more.”
To watch the How to Care documentary, go to tpt.org.
Brennan Vance
Instagram: @_brennanvance
