‘Everybody’s Oma’ Doco – Endearing, Relatable Insight into Dementia

When you’re given a dementia diagnosis or are tasked with caring for a family member, there’s an acute awareness that life is about to change as you process the implications of such cognitive decline and the practicalities of patient care.

During the COVID lockdowns, Australian filmmaker Jason van Genderen and his wife Megan inadvertently made Jason’s mum – known as “Oma” (grandmother in Dutch) – an online celebrity, sharing whimsical and unassuming videos of their experiences with her as they dealt with her diagnosis and cared for her through the pandemic.

Attracting more than 100 million views worldwide, the van Genderen’s home videos sparked “Oma’s Applesauce” community – an online group of 140,000-plus people interested in Oma’s welfare and who have been encouraged by the family’s vulnerable insights into living with dementia.

Feature film Everybody’s Oma follows the NSW Central Coast family as they navigate Oma’s failing health and the spotlight it puts them under as a well-meaning audience watch on.

Megan van Genderen spoke with Hope 103.2 about the life Oma lived before her diagnosis, the challenges of aged care and how the release of this film is changing the conversation about dementia.

Earlier this year, the family shared on Facebook that their “beloved Oma… passed away peacefully surrounded by her family and, of course, your love which she carries in her heart (and ours) forever”.

Everybody’s Oma is in select cinemas August 11.

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