Swan Song

Luis Weinstein on 'Swan Song' from World Press Photo on Vimeo.

Swan Song follows the story of Marilyn, diagnosed with dementia at age 58, and her daughters as they refocus their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision.

The film grew out of a project commissioned by the Neighborhood Centers Inc. to profile the organization’s work in the city of Houston. While documenting the stories of the people the organization works with everyday we discovered “The Greer Girls.” Swan Song takes a deeper look into this amazing family of women dealing with dementia, using their personal narrative to illustrate the struggles of families dealing with this difficult disease.

The film was awarded  3rd Prize in the Online Feature category of the 2014 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest.  First place in the Online Feature category was awarded to Witnessing Gezi by photojournalist Emin Özmen and second place went to Hers to Lose by Brent McDonald and Stephen Maing. A complete list of winners with links to the winning entries can be found on the World Press Photo website.

World Press Photo organizes the leading international contest in visual journalism. The foundation is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary storytelling worldwide. Its aim is to generate wide public interest in and appreciation for the work of photographers and other visual journalists, and for the free exchange of information.