Near the end of an extraordinary lifetime, at the beginning of another working day doctor Abraham Greenberg of Victoria B.C. begins his walk at 3:00 am in Victoria, B.C. At 103, he is the oldest working doctor in Canada. On a warm soft Florida morning, in the stables of a thoroughbred stud farm run by his family for many years, Fred Hooper talks gently to a yearling colt that he is training for his first race. His horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1945 and Fred Hooper is still hoping to win one more race. The centenarians of 100 something will take viewers far beyond the cliches and preconceptions of extreme old age. As active productive citizens, they are exemplars of our potential, warnings of our weaknesses and lighthouses of our hopes. They are members of a unique nation that will accept any of us as its’ citizens if only we learn to reach its shores.
A veteran of non-fiction programming, filmmaker Geeta Sondhi cut her teeth at the NFB’s Studio D working with luminaries of the doc world. Recent directing credits include The Art of Downsizing (CBC, POV, Doc Channel, NHK-Japan, SBC-Sweden) about aging; Stand Up Toronto! (TVO, DOC Channel) on the politics of race and comedy, and acclaimed viral hit 100 & Counting: Secrets to a Long Life (CBC Gem) about the passing of elders that got 27 million social media views. In addition to producing internationally successful work from feature-docs to unscripted series Geeta has programmed films for TIFF, managed funding programs for the OMDC and pioneered web programming. Originally from Kenya, she resides in Toronto.
Dr. Susan M. Papp is a television producer, director and writer, who after working for the CBC for fifteen years founded her own television production company, Postmodern Productions. While at the CBC, she was awarded the prestigious Michener Award for her outstanding investigative work. Dr. Susan Papp recently received her Ph.D from the University of Toronto. Her dissertation about the Politics of Recrimination and Discrimination in the Hungarian Film industry, 1929-1947 will soon be published.
Dr. Samir Sinha is the Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Director of Health Policy Research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Sinha is a highly regarded clinician and international expert in the care of older adults. He is the Architect of the Government of Ontario’s Seniors Strategy and in 2014, Maclean’s proclaimed him to be one of Canada’s 50 most influential people and its most compelling voice for the elderly. Dr. Sinha is a member of the Government of Canada’s National Seniors Council, and is also currently leading the development of new National Long-Term Care Standards for Canada. Beyond Canada, Dr. Sinha is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society and a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council. Dr. Sinha has further consulted and advised hospitals and health authorities in Britain, China, Iceland, Singapore, St. Kitts and Nevis, Taiwan and the United States on the implementation and administration of unique, integrated and innovative models of geriatric care that reduce disease burden, improve access and capacity and ultimately promote health.
