Daily Inspiration: Meet Tony Marquez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Marquez

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an independent filmmaker is hard. Working long hours to make ends meat and then saving up to pursue creative projects on the side can be exhausting. It takes passion as well as dedication and discipline.

All this being said, I am crowdfunding for my next short film, Sundown. A personal story that deals with dementia and caretaking.

Logline

A dutiful yet exhausted caregiver shares a special bond with her dementia-inflicted patient.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My name is Tony Marquez, and I am the creator and director of an upcoming short film called “Sundown”. This film is a personal and cathartic piece that was created during a time of incredible stress for me and my sisters. In the Spring of 2022, my mom (pictured here) endured her first of many strokes.

What we were unaware of at the time was that our mom was already showing signs of early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Since then, me and my sisters’ lives have turned upside down caretaking for our mom and learning all about the disease.

This film not only gives me an outlet to express my emotions but also hopefully sheds light on the difficulties of caretaking and the heartbreaking realities of elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Sundown” follows two characters; Maria – an elderly woman with dementia and Sandra – her younger caretaker and daughter whom Maria can’t remember. This film is a “slice of life” between the two women and follows them at the time just before sundowning up to Maria’s bedtime. We chose this specific time to focus the story on as the times right before sundowning, sundown and bedtime, shows the most distress between caretaker and a dementia person. In this film we are hoping to show the emotional roller coaster Sandra faces as she juggles her life as well as now caring for her mom who can’t remember her. Not only that, we hope to show the devastating effects dementia has on Maria, a once independent woman who raised a successful daughter.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Why Is This Film Important?
It is believed that over 9 million Americans live with some form of Dementia today.
Billions are spent each year on rising healthcare costs relating to dementia. In addition to financial burdens, family and care partners looking after loved ones are often emotionally
frustrated and physically stretched.
Over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with dementia & Alzheimer’s disease
In 2022, unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 18 BILLION hours of care valued at $339.5 billion dollars
Today there are no cures or effective long term treatments

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sundownshortfilm.allyrafundraising.com/campaigns/13229-support-sundown-with-a-tax-deductible-donation
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundown_shortfilm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sundownshortmovie/
• Other: https://tonyfmarquez.com/