‘Familiar Touch' will receive a UK cinema release from 19th June 2026 via Bulldog Film Distribution.
The film received widespread acclaim at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it won three awards, including Best Director, Best Debut Film and Best Actress before going on to receive many other awards including the Someone To Watch Award (Sarah Friedland) at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Ruth Goldman, an older woman with dementia, leaves her home for a date. But what she thinks is a hotel turns out to be an assisted living facility, and she must contend with an array of new faces, routines, and surroundings as her own identities and desires shift.
While Ruth resists identifying with her aging neighbours, she connects with the care workers there and is drawn towards her son, whom she mistakes for a suitor. A former cook, Ruth finds agency preparing meals in the facility kitchen. She slides into younger selves as she embraces the sensory experiences of the community's activities and daily life. But when the reality of her situation sinks in, Ruth feels betrayed and flees the facility in search of something familiar.
‘Familiar Touch' stars Kathleen Chalfant (‘Kinsey', ‘The Last Days Of Disco'), Carolyn Michelle (‘Russian Doll', ‘The Chi), Andy McQueen (‘Outer Banks', ‘Fahrenheit 451') and H. Jon Benjamin (‘Bob's Burgers', ‘Master Of None').
Inspired by writer/director Sarah Friedland‘s work as a memory care worker and teaching artist to older adults, ‘Familiar Touch' is an intergenerational production made in collaboration with the residents and care workers at a Los Angeles retirement community. The groundbreaking coming-of-old-age narrative is rooted in Ruth’s perspective – underscoring how, even as Ruth’s world transforms, she remains herself.
