There Is a Place

Tania Ku's documentary short focuses on Lior Tsarfaty, an Israeli-born singer-songwriter who offers music therapy sessions for Alzheimer's patients at San Francisco-area memory-care facilities. Arriving with a guitar and a suitcase full of other instruments, he quickly brings his audience into a circle of music-minded participants who engage in exercises ranging from Native American-style tribal drumming to a sing-along of old favorites like “You Are My Sunshine.” Working at 15 to 20 venues per week, Tsarfaty acknowledges the emptiness felt when patients pass away, but he also talks about participants' joy in hearing about his experience of becoming a new father. Ku's film captures the energy and enthusiasm that the patients experience during a Tsarfaty session, with several individuals playfully hamming for the camera with their instruments. And his presence is a welcome distraction from the physical and emotional difficulties that they face. One elderly man laments that he struggles to get through each new day, but later takes a moment to praise Tsarfaty's instruments, observing, “That suitcase does a lot of magic.” A fine tribute to one very special individual who brings immeasurable happiness to others through music, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)