Who said that old age has to be boring? This documentary opens the doors to the Palace, a retirement home of the kind that you have never seen before, in Miami. Gildings, ostentatious chandeliers, marble floors; like a cross between a luxury hotel and an Americanised copy of Versailles, the place is presented by its developers as the most beautiful retirement home in the United States. The residents here are pampered by an army of employees devoted to their every whim, in a permanent party atmosphere. This abundance of luxury, extravagance, and entertainment is nonetheless not enough to remove the anxieties of those who live there. Nor can it hide the intentions of the investors for whom old age is above all a source of income and a growing market. The film takes us on a journey into this baroque universe that tries to suppress the fear of death through dollars, questioning, in a dizzying visual whirlwind, our relationship to old age in its most universal aspect.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

Beat Oswald (1982, Frauenfeld, Switzerland) got his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Public Communication at the University of Zurich. Married to Nicole Oswald, together they have three kids.

Samuel Weniger (1986, St. Gallen, Switzerland) got his bachelor’s degree in Video at HSLU. He currently lives in London.