Nine To Ninety is the love story of Phyllis and Joe Sabatini, who at age 89 and 90 live in the home of their daughter and son-in-law, where they relish time with their young granddaughter Jacqueline. But as the family struggles to make ends meet and the grandparents’ health problems escalate, Phyllis becomes determined to free her daughter from the burden of caring for everyone from nine to ninety. When Phyllis makes a difficult decision to move 3,000 miles away to live with their other daughter, she faces parting from Joe, her husband of 62 years. While Joe has become resigned to his ailments, Phyllis yearns to live with agency and independence even with limited resources, and the couple’s surprising choices ignite bigger conversations about how to age with dignity.
Nine To Ninety received funding from ITVS and broadcast on PBS. The film premiered in Toronto at Hot Docs Film Festival, won First Place Non-Fiction at USA Film Festival,
and was nominated for Best Short at the IDA International Documentary Awards.
The 29-minute documentary screened abroad with the American Film Showcase and through grants and mentorship with The Fledgling Fund engaged communities in the US through a multi-state impact campaign and online events about aging during the film's wide PBS broadcast.
