07/17/2025
Calling all Veterans! Friendship Village Kalamazoo will be hosting a screening of the Michigan-made film, Old Heart on Thursday, July 31st at 2:00 PM in our Kiva auditorium.
This special screening with local Veterans partners with Veterans Navigator Antonia Kennedy of Southwest Michigan Behavioral Health
"A Stunning Story… Compelling, Entertaining”
-Rick Kogan Chicago Tribune
Now on national release, Old Heart honors our Veterans during the 80th anniversary celebration of World War 2 European Liberation. Watch the trailer here - https://vimeo.com/1088622696?share=copy
Adapted from Peter Ferry’s award-winning novel, Old Heart tells the story of Tom Johnson, an American soldier who is part of the Allied liberation of the Southern Netherlands in the fall of 1944. He teams up with a Jewish translator, Sarah van Praag, to smuggle food and supplies behind N**i lines. Along the way, they fall in love—a bond that will stay with him long after the war ends.
Sixty years later, in the summer of 2005, Tom foils his family’s plan to move him to an assisted living facility by taking a flight to the Netherlands. He is determined to find Sarah again, the love of his life.
The Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-45, is central to this screenplay, which has won eight best feature film awards at festivals in America and abroad. This movie is the Michigan production team’s fourth release, building on the successes of Waterwalk, Pilot Error and Coming Up for Air, which have won a dozen best feature awards at international festivals.
Lead actor Edward Gaines talks about his own story behind the film here - https://vimeo.com/1072204778
Co-Lead Zaneta Adams, formerly director of the Michigan Department of Veterans Affairs who also worked at the VA in Washington Administration for several years tells more about the story behind the film here - https://vimeo.com/1078495271
We hope you will join us for this very special screening!
To find more information about the film, visit www.oldheartmovie.com
