Mr Velvet ears

Anne and Edie. I want to tell you how inspired I was by Mr Velvet Ears. Anne I’m inspired by the way you have navigated this journey together. Edie I’ve been inspired by your strength and resilience in making this difficult life choice. Anne the amazing support, continuity and empowerment you have given to Edie; and love and support through this journey. to me it’s such a great example to viewers of how we can take life with dementia and bring it to a new level of love of relationship and of meaning throughout our lives. Thank you so much for what you have shared with the world.
​Dr Al Power, MD
​An important, moving and beautiful message. Thankyou to all involved in the movie for opening up this necessary conversation. A must watch for people living with dementia, their carers and the broader community. Dr Kerrie Shiell
Insightful. Raw. Compassionate. Five Stars XXXXX
Juliana Addison MP
A story of love and caring. Of the seasons and emotions within a relationship. A story of letting go and holding on. A story for all carers who are strong one day...so vulnerable the next. Carers whose tears are often hidden, emotions suppressed. The story of all carers...for all carers, families and friends. Well done Mr. Velvet Ears.
Colleen Stewart.
Mr Velvet Ears follows the experiences of Anne and Edie as they make the difficult decision to access a residential aged care home for Edie, who lives with younger onset dementia. Anne and Edie have been together for 35 years. The film is shot through the eyes of Mr Velvet Ears, their dementia assist dog; adding warmth to the difficult topics addressed in the film. 
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  • Duration: one hour (can be extended to two)
  • Aim: to improve understanding of the experiences of people living with dementia, particularly partners and carers, to assist partners and families of carers making decisions about support services; to assist in the development of more dementia friendly services; to assist in the development of more LGBTI inclusive dementia services
  • Resource includes: a 40 min film; discussion points and links to further resources
  • Suitable for: dementia services, carers services, carers groups, aged care service providers, community groups, individuals and families.
  • Preview: see trailer below
  • Cost: $8 (24 hours), $50 (week), $150 (month), $450 (year) - contact us re cost to use the film as a fundraiser
  • Access: starts immediately after your purchase is made, you can access the course as often as you want
  • Resource link: here

tips on accessing our courses

The courses (workshops, individual learning etc) are hosted on a platform called Thinkific. Some useful tips for accessing the courses:
  1. You will be asked to create a user name an password
  2. Then you will be asked to choose the length of time to want to access the course for
  3. Then you will be asked for payment
  4. Your access to the course starts immediately
  5. You can access the course as many times as you like for the period you have purchased it
  6. All our courses are very low cost and funds are used to support Celebrate Ageing projects. As a social enterprise this is our income source - please respect this by not sharing resources with others who havent paid the small amount we are asking for
  7. The courses are designed for use as an individual or to be shared in your service/group (workshops, lectures etc). Please do not share your access with other services/groups; we have kept pricing low to make it accessible and ask that you pass on a link to others so they can purchase their access
  8. If you have any challenges or suggestions please contact Dr Catherine Barrett on: director@celebrateageing.com

view the trailer

View the Mr Velvet Ears trailer below. You can also view video messages from internally renowned dementia expert Dr Al Power and an address to State Parliament by Michaela Settle MP, Member for Buninyong, about the film.  

In the media 

Thankyou so the journalists who covered the release of Mr Velvet Ears and to the service providers who helped spread the word. We greatly appreciate your support  
  • Natasha Egan, Australian Ageing Agenda. Film helps staff understand what families go through. here
  • Journal of Dementia Care
  • Out in Perth. Catch a special screening of the film Mr Velvet Ears: here
  • Alex Ford, The Ballarat Courier. Ballarat's Edie Mayhew and Anne Tudor's film Mr Velvet Ears to premiere. here
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the celebrate ageing school

Celebrate Ageing School offers resources to challenge ageism and build respect for older people. Key features of the education offered by the School include:
  1. Contemporary issues
  2. Innovative approaches
  3. Multimodal eg: film, ppt, discussion points
  4. Affordable cost
  5. Accessible information
  6. Practical strategies for change
  7. Developed in partnership with older people
  8. Information for individual learners
  9. Information and resources for workshop facilitators.

​Most of the resources include a short film, discussion points and a PowerPoint presentation for those who want to facilitate a workshop. The resources offer low cost options for a week, month or a year. Celebrate Ageing is a social enterprise – the small income generated from these resources helps us to do the important work we do. So – please don’t share the resources with others outside your organisation. The kits for workshop facilitators are intended for people to use within their own organisation. If you want to facilitate workshops with multiple organisations, please contact us.

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​the celebrate ageing school, home page

Contact us

Dr Catherine Barrett, Director on 0429 582 237 or email: director@celebrateageing.com