Conscious
Synopsis
A quartet of voices: Maureen Winfield represents the struggle of the caregiver - her husband regressed to the period when they were engaged and no longer recognised her or the home they lived in for 40 years; Wendy Mitchell, diagnosed with young-onset dementia, embodies resilience, she uses ingenious coping mechanisms to navigate her changing perceptions; Pegeen O’Sullivan, daughter of novelist Liam O’Flaherty, offers a surprising perspective - although she has lost her memories, she has also been liberated her from fears; neuroscientistAnil Seth provides a scientific counterpoint, suggesting that our "normal" reality is itself a form of controlled hallucination.
By weaving together deeply personal lived experiences with performance and scientific theory, CONSCIOUS illustrates how dementia shifts our internal worlds, challenging our preconceptions of ageing, showing us that whilst there are devastating losses on on the dementia journey, there can also be triumphant gains.
Official Selection CPH:DOX 2026
Details
- Year
- 2026
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 80 min
- Format
- 4K Digital Raw/ProRes 4444
- Director
-
Suki Chan 1st Feature
- Producer
- Aimara Reques, Teresa Grimes, Suki Chan
- Co-Producer
- Gannesh Rajah
- Executive Producer
- Mark Thomas, Sandra Whipham, Dominic Davis
- Editor
- Suki Chan, Michael Ellis
- Screenwriter
- Suki Chan
- Director of Photography
- David Lee, Catherine Derry
- Sound
- Dominik Scherrer
- Composer
- Dominik Scherrer
- Principal cast
- Sam Dale, Maria Macdonell, Karen Fanning, Érin Geraghty
- Other Lead Creative(s)
- Script Editor and Consultant: JILLIAN MANNION, Visual Effects: OMBRIUM
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Supported by Screen Scotland, BFI Doc Society Fund, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Sandbox Films
Aconite Productions Ltd.
Burgh Business Centre (Office 5)75 King Street
Rutherglen
Glasgow
G73 1JS
Scotland
Page updates
This page was last updated on 5th November 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
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