Mimi and Dona Title
Limited Options. Limitless Love.

What happens when love runs out of time? For a 92-year-old mother, Mimi, who has cared 64 years for Dona, a daughter who has an intellectual disability, it means facing the inevitable—she will not outlive her daughter—and finding her daughter a home.

MIMI AND DONA is their story.

This poignant, heartbreaking and, at times, humorous documentary traces this process through the story of a quirky and deeply connected mother-daughter duo. The film spotlights the challenges of aging caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities—some 4.6 million Americans, 75% of whom live at home with family—and details the ripple effects of Dona's disability on three generations of a Texas family.

Director Sophie Sartain started shooting in 2009, taking an HDV camera from Los Angeles to Dallas to capture the quirky and insular world of her grandmother, Mimi, and her aunt, Dona. Time was scarce. Mimi had finally admitted that she could no longer care for her daughter Dona, and an application was submitted to move Dona to a state-run institution. After 64 years, Mimi would have an empty nest, and Dona would suddenly be on her own.

Heart-wrenching. As unflinching as it is beautiful. The New York Times

MIMI AND DONA has been well-received in film festivals around the world and will be shown nationally on PBS in late 2015.

DETAILS
  • Format:
    Feature documentary

  • Length:
    1 hour 45 minutes

  • Status:
    In Festivals, nationally broadcast on PBS in late 2015

  • Filmmakers:
    Nancy Spielberg, Executive Producer
    Marta Kauffman, Executive Producer
    Sophie Sartain, Writer, Producer and Director
    Chris Callister, Editor
    Dyanna Taylor, Additional Photography

  • Film website:
    mimianddonamovie.com