Don't trust anyone under 100!
SYNOPSIS
Super Ager Pauline Rutkowski, blessed with extraordinary physical and mental health, spends her 102nd and 103rd years on camera in this new feature documentary. Born to Polish parents in 1921 and raised on a Depression Era farm with eleven siblings, she has lived her entire life in Western Pennsylvania, surviving much and many across the 20th and 21st centuries. In her decades of hard work, early business success, and personal hardships while raising a sprawling family spanning five generations, Pauline embodies an often overlooked part of America’s “Greatest Generation,” its women. Throughout this visually inventive, upbeat portrait of advanced aging Pauline’s can-do attitudes reveal innate grit and a razor sharp wit. At a moment that seems particularly apt, with future generations expected to survive to and exceed their 100th birthdays, we witness in Pauline the example of strength, humility, and decency from a bygone era.
Credits
RICHARD RUTKOWSKI
DIRECTOR
Richard is an active cinematographer based in New York City. His work on the first seasons of FX’s Cold War spy drama The Americans drew widespread critical acclaim. His camera work on the streaming drama Manhattan earned two ASC Award Nominations. Recent projects include Apple's TV’s Sugar, garnering both an Emmy nomination and the ASC Award this year for Outstanding Cinematography. His work also includes Masters of the Air, Apple TV's epic story of B-17 pilots in WWII and the third installment in the Band of Brothers franchise, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. An earlier documentary, The Space in Back of You, chronicled the creative relationship between Japanese dancer Suzushi Hanayagi and theater maestro Robert Wilson. This documentary was screened in theaters internationally and aired on Arte Channel in France. Richard is one of Pauline’s fifteen grandchildren.
Betsy Kenyon
Producer
Published and exhibited internationally, Betsy Kenyon works primarily as a visual artist. Betsy's project “Four Directions” was featured at the United Nations in New York City, a body of work conceived while traveling the contiguous United States during an artist residency in a camper van. Her book and photo project “Slumber” captures the isolated and surreal nights of unrest during the Covid pandemic, and was exhibited and published in Seoul, South Korea. Betsy’s entry into filmmaking began recently with her short film, Memento Mori, a project she co-wrote, produced and directed. She was educated at Sarah Lawrence College and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Pauline From 2 to 3 is Richard and Betsy’s first such collaboration. They are married and based out of New York City.
Harry Jackson
Editor
Harry Jackson is a Brooklyn-based film editor whose work has premiered on PBS, the BBC, and Netflix. In addition to Pauline From 2 to 3, he edited the News and Doc Emmy-nominated Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely, and was an Associate Editor on NOVA's Human Nature, which was nominated for Best Editing by the News and Doc Emmys, as well by the the International Documentary Association. He was also an Assistant Editor on Netflix's Tiger King.
Belle Krupcheck
Graphic Design
Belle Krupcheck is a New York-based graphic designer and artist. He has designed for brands such as Porsche, Mayvenn, Right Side Up, Design Factory, among others. His art practice ranges from gallery curation projects (Blue Tape Society 2015-2017), a published mixed media poetry book titled (The Warmest Jacket I Own is the One You Gave Me). His video work has been shown in New York City, Toronto, Dublin, Krakow, and London.
Christy McGill
Consulting Producer
Christy McGill is a film producer, writer, story consultant, and distribution advisor. Her producing credits include the award-winning feature documentaries PASANG: In the Shadow of Everest (director, Nancy Svendsen), Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly (director, Cheryl Haines, co-director Gina Leibrecht), Serenade for Haiti (director, Owsley Brown), and Ghost Bird (director, Scott Crocker). Christy has consulted on a wide variety of films, advising during pre-production, story development, field production, post-production, release preparation and distribution strategies. Christy is a graduate of Brown University where she also helps teach a documentary producing class.
Erika Berlin
Executive Producer
Erika Berlin is a champion of Pauline and their mutually beloved city of Erie, Pennsylvania. As Executive Producer, she secured strong community partnerships and funders (WQLN, Erie Arts & Culture) to bring Pauline: From 2 to 3 over the finish line. With 15 years of leadership in the nonprofit arts economy, Erika’s experience includes communications, development, and strategic planning for film projects, both in their production and exhibition. Erika is a Stanford graduate and a Penn State Behrend instructor of public speaking.
Ben Ades, James Lockowandt, Robert Frank & Mike Berlin
Associate Producers
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