FACING THE WIND follows two women, whose lives are irrevocably changed by 
their husbands’ diagnosis with Lewy body dementia (LBD) —a widespread, but little-known condition. After struggling to find information about her husband’s disease, Linda Szypula starts a 
podcast about LBD with Curry Wisenhunt, a Texan truck driver, who also has the disease. Their efforts grow into a unique online support community for those living with the disease and those caring for them. In a support group, Linda meets Carla Preyer, who has just quit her job to care for her husband Patrick. They bond over their shared challenges and the dark humor they use to cope. Linda and Jim plan a “go-for-broke” road trip to see the country and visit friends from the support group. But 
only weeks into the trip, things begin to go awry, as Jim struggles with the travel. Meanwhile, Carla plans a ceremony to renew her wedding vows, but Patrick takes a turn for the worse. As their husbands begin to disappear into dementia, Linda and Carla grow closer. Their friendship and their connection to the 
support group help them deal with their grief, rise to the demands of caregiving, and emerge whole on the other side. Director Deirdre Fishel stops by for a conversation on the slow-motion tragedy that Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) brings to those having to navigate its challenges. Fishel lovingly spotlights the afflicted and their care givers like Linda, Carla and LBD diagnosed Curry Whisenhunt as they endeavor to do the best they can. As Fishel puts it “every person will eventually need care or be a caregiver, our ageist, ablest, individualistic society expects each person or family to manage care on their own despite more cries for government and community support.”
About the filmmaker – Deirdre Fishel is a director of documentaries and dramas that have been broadcast in 35 countries worldwide. Her latest documentary, Women in Blue (2020) looks at the lives of women officers trying to reform the Minneapolis Police Department in the years leading up to the murder of George Floyd. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens. Fishel’s Ford and MacArthur Foundation funded documentary Care (2016)looks at the lives of elder care workers and their clients and how America’s care system is failing both. It premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest and was broadcast on America Reframed. Fishel’s other projects include the groundbreaking documentary STILL DOING IT: The Intimate Lives of Women Over 65 which premiered at SXSW, Suicide on Campus a web documentary produced in conjunction with The New York Times Magazine and Risk a dramatic feature which premiered in competition at Sundance. Fishel is a professor and the director of the BFA in Film/Video at the City College of New York. For more go to: mindseyeprods.com
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Reviews:
“The memorable documentary Facing the Wind takes a candid look at two married couples coping with each husband having Lewy body dementia. It shows real and raw experiences from the caregivers’ perspectives.” – Carla Hay, Culture Mix