About
Harvard-educated South Florida native Lance Oppenheim has made a justifiable splash since completing his debut feature documentary. Some Kind of Heaven, produced by filmmaking legend Darren Aronofsky, premiered to glowing reviews at the Sundance Film Festival and minted Oppenheim as a filmmaker to watch closely by Filmmaker Magazine.
This often funny and always deeply human documentary is set in America's largest retirement community, The Villages, in central Florida. The Villages sells itself to prospective residents as "Disneyland for Retirees" and they provide a treasure trove of amenities and services to match their utopian sales pitch. Many residents buy into the vision, but for Barbara, Dennis, and the couple Anne & Reggie, the search for happiness and meaning in this new environment is not so simple.
Oppenheim has said his mission is to make films that "explore the lives of people who create homes in unconventional places and circumstances." With this poignant and brilliant debut feature, his career mission is off to a remarkable start.
