WITH DAD is a short nonfiction film that chronicles the work of American photographer Stephen DiRado, specifically during the painful 20-year period of his father’s decline and eventual death from Alzheimer’s disease. DiRado, known for long-term projects, used his antique large-format box camera to meticulously document the end of his artistic mentor's life in a way that celebrates a legacy without concealing the trauma inherent in the premature loss of a loved one. The book, With Dad, is a photographic journal that vividly articulates a son’s connections, captured through his camera, as his father succumbs to Alzheimer’s.
Based on DiRado's book, WITH DAD includes interviews with Stephen DiRado, high-resolution scans of his work, and contemporaneous digital video footage shot by his brother, Chris. The film premieres on WSBE Rhode Island PBS on Monday, September 20 at 10 p.m.
WITH DAD premiered at the 2020 Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it won the Youth Jury First Prize for Best Short Documentary. The film also won awards in 2020 at the Houston International Film Festival, the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, and the Mystic Film Festival. In 2021, WITH DAD won two awards, for Best Short Documentary and Best Editing, at the Red Dirt Film Festival in Stillwater, OK, and Best Short Documentary at the NYC Independent Film Festival in New York.
Photographer Stephen DiRado is most noted for his portraiture, night-astronomical photography, and semi-composed group photography, and for the extensive length of his projects. He has been the recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Massachusetts Artist Foundation. He has taken part in solo and group exhibitions at venues including the DeCordova and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His work is held in both public and private collections. DiRado is currently a Professor of Practice in photography within the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Clark University.
Director Soren Sorensen is an award-winning filmmaker specializing in documentary film and television with an emphasis on social and cultural issues. His first feature-length documentary, MY FATHER’S VIETNAM (2016), combines interviews and never-before-seen photographs and 8mm footage of the era, to tell the story of three soldiers, only one of whom returned home from the Vietnam War alive. The film premiered at the 2015 Rhode Island International Film Festival, where it won the Soldiers and Sacrifice Grand Prize.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD in MA; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36. The full schedule is streamed at watch.ripbs.org/livestream.
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