Bay Area film, 'Any Wednesday,' earns Oscar consideration

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- For San Francisco filmmaker Allie Light, aging is often about what is lost and what is retained.

In her new film "Any Wednesday," Light explores the edges of awareness and understanding, through two characters, both facing struggles now common in America. For homeless war-veteran C'Mo the struggle is PTSD, for the aging Agnes it is Dementia.

"But it doesn't emerge right away. It slowly comes into focus as they drive around," explains Light.

She was inspired by a family incident, when an aging in-law suffering from dementia vanished for hours. In the case of Agnes and C'Mo, what happens is a powerful connection sparked by a flat tire, a chance encounter, and miles of driving with Agnes at the wheel.

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"She can't say, yes, get in the car. She can't say, no you can't. So she just makes a gesture with her hand pointing to the car and says okay, get in," says Light.

Light's daughter and co-producer Julia Hilder says the subject has struck a chord with audiences.

"We get a lot of people coming up after the film is over and saying you know what, that reminds me of my aunt, she has those same signs," says Hilder.

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Light recently learned that "Any Wednesday" is now under consideration for an Oscar nomination. It would be her second, after the honor she received for the documentary "In the Shadow of the Stars," on the San Francisco Opera Company. She says "Any Wednesday" is just one of four scripts she's recently written on the subject of Aging.

Something she hopes we can all become more comfortable with.

"Being old is like being in a dark country, she says. You have to strike a match, you have to hang a chandelier, you have to make your own light, and that's what I'm trying to do," Light said.

Oscar nominations are due out in December. The Academy Award ceremony will be broadcast live here on ABC7 on February 9, 2020.