Director: Silvia Maggi
Release Year: 2013
Synopsis:
In Welcome Home, director Silvia Maggi takes audiences into the heart of Lebensort Vielfalt, the first LGBT intergenerational elderly community in Germany. This groundbreaking project is a testament to the possibilities of self-managed, community-driven care models that cater to the specific needs of LGBTQ+ seniors, creating a space where aging, care, and identity are not compromised but celebrated. Through the lens of this innovative project, Welcome Home explores themes of identity, belonging, care, and community, while also highlighting the profound social and political importance of building alternative, inclusive care models for marginalized groups.
Located in Berlin, Lebensort Vielfalt is a co-housing project designed specifically for LGBTQ+ seniors, creating an alternative to traditional elder care homes that often fail to meet the needs of older LGBTQ+ individuals. The initiative is revolutionary not only for its focus on LGBTQ+ seniors but also for its model of self-management. Residents of Lebensort Vielfalt are responsible for the daily functioning of the community, making collective decisions about the management of the space, organizing activities, and determining how care is provided.
In this self-organized environment, decisions are made collectively in community meetings, where all members, regardless of age or background, have a say.
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This form of direct democracy contrasts sharply with the top-down, bureaucratic structures typically found in nursing homes or other elder care facilities. The residents of Lebensort Vielfalt are not passive recipients of care—they actively shape the community's policies and daily life. From organizing the library hours to maintaining the garden, running the building, and even providing healthcare, the residents themselves take responsibility for ensuring that their needs are met in a way that aligns with their shared values and experiences.
This model offers a crucial counterpoint to the conventional, institutionalized systems of care, which often fail to address the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ elders. For many LGBTQ+ seniors, traditional care settings are fraught with the risk of discrimination, harassment, and a lack of understanding from caregivers who may not respect their identities. In this context, Lebensort Vielfalt offers a much-needed alternative—a community where LGBTQ+ seniors can live out their later years in a space that is welcoming, inclusive, and explicitly designed to respect and nurture their identities.
When Silvia Maggi and her team decided to make Welcome Home, they did so with the intention of telling the stories of the people living at Lebensort Vielfalt. However, through their interviews and observations, they found that the experience of these queer elders resonated deeply with their own lives. Maggi describes how the film became a reflection of her own journey, as she and her team discovered parallels between their struggles and those of the residents. The film explores how the meaning of care is intertwined with the concept of community and the search for a place to call home.
In the process of making the film, Maggi and her team realized that Welcome Home was not just about the lives of these seniors but also about their own shared histories and struggles.
Themes of migration, exile, identity, love, and resilience permeate the film, reflecting the collective experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. As many of the residents recount their stories of growing up in a world that was not always accepting of their identities—where they were forced to hide or "pass" as heterosexual—Welcome Home underscores the importance of creating spaces where people can live authentically and without fear of rejection.
For many LGBTQ+ seniors, Lebensort Vielfalt offers the opportunity to "come home" to a place where they are free from the societal pressures that have shaped their lives. In this way, Welcome Home becomes a poignant exploration of not just elder care but the human need for belonging, for recognition, and for love.
At Lebensort Vielfalt, self-organization is not just about managing practical aspects of daily life—it's about fostering a culture of collective care and mutual support. As the residents work together to make decisions, they are also building a community that emphasizes shared responsibility, empathy, and respect. This model challenges the prevailing notion that care for the elderly should be left to professionals, or that it requires an institutionalized, impersonal approach. Instead, Lebensort Vielfalt demonstrates that care can be a deeply personal and collective endeavor, shaped by the people who need it most.
The process of self-management also empowers the residents by giving them agency over their own lives.
In traditional care homes, elderly people are often subject to institutional rules and procedures that can feel disempowering. In contrast, at Lebensort Vielfalt, each individual has a voice in shaping the environment in which they live. This includes not only how their care is provided but also how they interact with one another as neighbors and fellow community members.
This collective decision-making process is central to the identity of Lebensort Vielfalt. It is not just a place where people live but a space where they actively create their own sense of home, often in stark contrast to the isolation many LGBTQ+ seniors experience in mainstream society. For many, the community is not just a shelter from physical ailments but a sanctuary for emotional and psychological well-being.
The significance of Lebensort Vielfalt extends beyond its model of care to its focus on the specific needs of queer elders—individuals who are often overlooked by traditional senior care systems. LGBTQ+ seniors have faced a lifetime of discrimination, violence, and marginalization. For some, the idea of aging in a traditional care facility is fraught with anxiety, as they may fear being forced to conceal their identities, face harassment, or be treated with disrespect.
Lebensort Vielfalt addresses these concerns by providing an environment that is explicitly designed to be LGBTQ+ friendly. The community is built on the recognition that queer elders often have different needs from their heterosexual peers, not only in terms of physical care but also in terms of emotional and social support. This includes the understanding that many LGBTQ+ seniors have experienced social isolation, the loss of lifelong partners, and the trauma of living through a time when their identities were criminalized or pathologized.
By offering a space where LGBTQ+ seniors can live authentically, surrounded by others who understand their struggles and experiences, Lebensort Vielfalt provides a model for aging that is rooted in dignity, respect, and inclusivity. It is a place where individuals can form deep, supportive relationships with others, engage in community-building activities, and ensure that their needs are met in a way that respects their identity and history.
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The impact of Lebensort Vielfalt and Welcome Home extends far beyond Germany. Since its completion, Welcome Home has been screened at numerous film festivals and academic events across the world. It was showcased at the Congiunzioni Festival in Bologna (2018), Queeresima in Cagliari (2016), Transfemifest in Granada (2016), and the Political Science Department of the University of Parma (2017), among many others.
Through these screenings, the film has sparked important conversations about the needs of LGBTQ+ seniors and the future of elder care, both in Europe and beyond. These events have offered platforms for LGBTQ+ individuals and advocates to discuss the challenges faced by aging queer communities and the ways in which alternative care models can provide better support.
By presenting Lebensort Vielfalt as an example of self-organized, community-driven care, Welcome Home has become part of a larger global conversation about aging, identity, and the future of care. It serves as a powerful reminder that care should not be a one-size-fits-all approach but should be tailored to the diverse needs of the people it serves.
Ultimately, Welcome Home is not just a film about Lebensort Vielfalt but a call for change in how we think about aging, care, and community. It challenges the conventional models of institutionalized elder care and offers a compelling alternative that prioritizes dignity, respect, and autonomy. By focusing on LGBTQ+ seniors, the film also underscores the need for care systems that are inclusive of all identities and experiences, especially those that have been marginalized or excluded from mainstream society.
In a world where aging is often viewed through a narrow, medicalized lens, Lebensort Vielfalt offers a hopeful vision of what aging can look like when care is rooted in community, mutual support, and the recognition of each individual's humanity. Through Welcome Home, Silvia Maggi has not only documented the lives of LGBTQ+ elders but has also given us a glimpse of a future where everyone—regardless of age, gender, or sexual orientation—can find a place to call home.
Image credits: Vimeo
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