DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING: What’s Next? (Taglianetti, 2024)

Please join us for a screening of the recent documentary What’s Next? about the life and work of 102-year-old Dr. Howard Tucker, a neurologist from Cleveland. Recently named “Oldest Practicing Doctor” by Guinness World Records, Dr. Tucker taught medical residents and treated patients throughout the pandemic.  He served in the Navy during both World War II and the Korean War.  In addition to practicing medicine for over 75 years, Dr. Tucker received his law degree in his late 60s. 

The film’s director Taylor Taglianetti will join us for a Q&A immediately following the screening.  The founder of the National Organization of Italian Americans in Film and Television (NOIAFT), Ms. Taglianetti, who produces film and interviews celebrities in addition to directing, is a 2019 graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her debut documentary, which she co-wrote with her college classmate Austin Tucker (Dr. Tucker’s grandson), was inspired by her respect and admiration for older people.  Taglianetti states: “I’ve always had an immense appreciation for the things and people who have come before me.  Growing up in an Italian American family, my fondest memories are those of sitting around the kitchen table, listening to old-timers tell their stories.  Furthermore, I was profoundly affected by the number of elderly people who were lost during the pandemic, and with them, their stories.”

The film screening, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Monday, March 24 at 5pm in the Kelley Presentation Room.

This event has been organized by the Italian Studies program, with sponsorship from the Arts Institute, and programs in Judaic Studies and Health Professions.

 For further information contact Prof. Mary Ann Carolan at mcarolan@fairfield.edu.