In a longtime ritual, retirees from the Northeast have fled the cold for life in Florida, seeking better weather and a less-stressful lifestyle. During the 1970s, with an affordable down payment, they could become condominium owners at Kings Point in Delray Beach, Fla. Today, most of the seniors there are well into their 70s and 80s, and many have been living in the resort for decades.
Nominated for an Academy Award(R) this year for Best Documentary Short, KINGS POINT tells the stories of five seniors living in a typical American retirement resort. These men and women came to Florida decades ago with their spouses by their sides and their health intact, and now grapple with love, loss and the universal desire for human connection. Directed by Emmy(R)-nominated editor Sari Gilman, the film is a bittersweet look at the national obsession with self-reliance, exploring the tension between living and aging, while underscoring society's ambivalence toward growing older. KINGS POINT debuts MONDAY, MARCH 11 (9:00-9:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.Other HBO playdates: March 14 (9:00 a.m.), 16 (9:30 a.m.), 19 (1:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 22 (4:30 p.m.) and 24 (6:15 p.m.)HBO2 playdates: March 13 (8:00 p.m.), 23 (7:35 a.m.) and 26 (5:40 a.m.)Gilman, whose grandmother was a resident of Kings Point, began filming ten years ago. She wanted to learn more about this uniquely American community, and explore the interplay between the desire for independence and The Common need for community. Notes Gilman, "It is their lives and their voices that, for me, have come to represent the universal longing for human connection, and the complexities of aging in a society that extols the virtue of self-reliance."Videos