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When documentary filmmaker Doug Block's daughter Lucy was born, he began filming her, with the idea that one day he'd create a film on parenting. "The Kids Grow Up" is that film and it screens at The Avon on Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Block calls it his "funny and poignant account of his year of learning to let go" as Lucy prepares to leave for college.
Block's first "family" film, "51 Birch Street," examined his parents' marriage. The NY Times named it one of the ten best films of 2006. Block says, "Many years ago, when I set out to become a proverbial 'big-time' movie director, the last thing I expected was that my greatest filmmaking success would result from an intensely personal documentary about my relatively normal family."In 2010's "The Kids Grow Up," more than just Lucy's imminent departure for college and the anticipated seismic shift this will create are in the viewfinder. Block also focuses on Marjorie, his wife and Lucy's mom, as she struggles with a new episode of depression and during the filming, Block himself confronts some realities about aging.
As to the intimate family material he covers, Block acknowledges his family's fearlessness. "...the more Ive travelled with these films around the world, the more Ive come to realize that theres nothing more powerful or affecting than authentically sharing who we are as human beings with one another. Im proud and grateful that my wife and daughter feel the same way, and that they trusted I would present their lives and experiences on film in an honest and, hopefully, entertaining way," he says.
"The Kids Grow Up" was called "Powerful...funny....irresistible" by Andrew O'Hehir on Salon.com, among many other accolades. A Q&A with filmmaker Block follows the Avon's screening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information, visit The Avon's website.
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