MAX
COURIER L M BR B G IFE, MARCH 1–7, 2019 27
LOVELY FILM: Robin Marion and Maureen Beale enjoyed the
Valentine’s Day screening of “The Age of Love” at Il Centro.
Photo by Trey Pentecost
It’s a silver
screening!
Local seniors spend
V-Day watching elders
speed date in new fi lm
BY JULIANNE MCSHANE
True love never gets old.
Some local seniors spent Valentine’s Day screening
a new documentary about a group of elders who
attempt speed dating to fi nd romance in their golden
years. The fi lm reminded viewers that those searching
for their special someone often seek companionship
for the same reasons, no matter their age, according
to a Bay Ridgite who watched it.
“They were all just saying the same thing: they
want to be in a healthy relationship, to be happy,”
Ridgite Carmen Feliciano said of those featured in
the documentary. “It was interesting that no matter
what age you are, everybody’s always looking for
the same thing.”
Feilciano and the other elders screened the fl ick
at Bensonhurst’s Italian-American cultural center,
Il Centro , which fi nally opened last year after years
of delays. Audience members dined on a buffet of
Italian pastries and candy before settling in for the
documentary , which follows 30 seniors living in upstate
New York who attend a fi rst-of-its-kind speeddating
session for 70- to 90-year-olds.
The movie addressed the roller coaster of emotions
that seniors coping with loneliness experience,
and the fear that comes with re-entering the dating
scene, according to one oldster who watched it, who
said the documentary did not scare her off from trying
the timed dates.
“The movie was fantastic — it was happy, it was
sad, it was real,” said Robin Marion, who lives in
Marine Park. “I would love to try speed dating.”