'I'd rather not moonwalk back into the closet': 'Neverman' spotlights transgender people's dementia fears

Cuban-Canadian director Rodrigo Barriuso says he decided years ago he needed to draw attention to the difficulties some LGBTQ+ residents face as they enter long-term care homes, including examples he found "devastating and enraging." He was seeing a number of media reports abroad about cases of long-term care homes that weren't equipped to provide identity-affirming care to residents.

"As a result, they were returning to the proverbial closet because the discrimination that they were facing in these place(s) was so rampant that they would rather live in the closet than subject themselves to it," said Rodrigo, whose film "Neverman" played at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The generation of the LGBTQ+ community that fought for gay and transgender rights is now aging, with some developing dementia and ending up "sharing a living facility with the bullies who — news flash — also age," said the Toronto-based director.

In "Neverman," which is also a finalist for the $25,000 Windsor International Film Festival prize, the fictional long-term care home's staff try to strip transgender activist Lucia Neverman — played by Justin Vivian Bond — of her identity.

Lucia's nurse, Eleanor — played by Québécois actor Marie-Josée Croze — makes escalating attempts to dissuade her from wearing makeup and to replace her dresses with masculine clothes.

Lucia faces these repeated aggressions while fearing losing herself to her progressing Alzheimer's disease.

She expresses that fear early in the film when discussing her prognosis with her neurologist, saying with her characteristic acerbic wit that she'd "rather not moonwalk back into the closet" and mentally regress to her youth.

Although the film is a fictional account, it reflects real-life fears among the aging LGBTQ+ population, experts in dementia and those who work with the community say.

Allison Sekuler, chief scientist at Baycrest Academy for Research and Education who specializes in aging and brain health, said bias and misunderstanding continue to exist in long-term care, often when people haven't had adequate training on how to provide gender-affirming care.

In Ontario, the office of the minister of long-term care says all homes are expected to meet a strict standard of care.

"This includes treating residents with courtesy and respect in a way that recognizes their dignity, worth, and individuality, regardless of, their race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status or disability," communications director Mark Hensen wrote in an email on Friday.

The ministry said it has supported the development of resources by various agencies to support LGBTQ+ long-term care residents.