- Debra Magid is an artist and designer who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) in 2012. In the fall of 2016, Debra agreed to let her son, Zack Grant, document the relationship between her art and her condition on film. What started as an exploration of Debra's growth as an artist in the face of Parkinson's Disease grew into a larger story of art, health, family and the will to cope. Shake With Me is a look into a frozen, tenuous and unique moment in time where Debra's health is stable, her art is thriving, and the future is entirely unknown.
- Shake With Me is the story of Debra Magid, an artist and designer living with Parkinson's Disease (PD), told through the eyes of her son and filmmaker, Zack Grant. After keeping her diagnosis under wraps for over 3 years, Debra slowly but surely began to embrace the realities of living with PD; all of which coincided with Debra returning to the fine arts with an enthusiasm and focus that she hadn't had since college.
Spanning two years of filming, Shake With Me takes viewers on an emotional and physical journey through the many facets of Debra's day to day life. Time and the unfolding realities of a degenerative disease dictate Debra's constantly evolving views on her diagnosis. Whether she is creating art in her studio, taking a boxing class specifically for PD patients, or talking about how PD has impacted her friends and family, Shake With Me presents a truly raw and honest look at what it's like for Debra to live, endure and succeed despite a life changing diagnosis and a future that is entirely unknown.
What makes the film truly unique is the relationship between filmmaker and subject. Parkinson's Disease, while being Debra's condition to bare, has had a profound effect on her family. While the film is meant to explore Debra's point of view, both as an artist and a person with Parkinson's, the added layer of experiencing Debra's story in real time with her son adds an unexpected and refreshing personal element.
Shake With Me isn't meant to portray a story of declining health. Instead, the film presents an ethereal moment in time where Debra's health is stable, her art is thriving, and the future is entirely unknown. This is a film without a finite ending; the viewer will be left to take in all of Debra's challenges, hopes, fears, victories and disappointments, and draw their own conclusion about what it means to live with PD
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