AI Summary
5 min readThe MEA Film Fest started with a simple observation: the AARP’s annual list of best movies for grown-ups was, in Chip Conley’s words, “just not that great.” It was too obvious, missing the art films that deserved attention. So Conley, who wrote a screenplay in his twenties before founding a boutique hotel company instead, decided to build something different. The result is a workshop-format film festival held each December in Santa Fe, where attendees stay on site, eat together, soak in hot tubs, and discuss films with the people who made them. This year, from December 14th through the 19th, the festival will host roughly 50 attendees, 30 filmmakers, and 40 films—including Rita Moreno, Dr. Bob Waldinger of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, and actors like Alicia Reiner and Rada Blank.
Why Hollywood’s Portrayal of Aging Matters
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:05) **Hollywood's Ageism Problem** - The conversation opens with a critique of how Hollywood has historically portrayed older people, citing "The Golden Girls" as a dated stereotype.
- 2 (01:04) **The Birth of the MEA Film Fest** - Chip Conley explains the origin of the festival, created to combine a love of film with a unique workshop experience.
- 3 (01:45) **Chip's Lifelong Passion for Film** - Chip reveals his personal history with screenwriting and his long-standing interest in cinema.
- 4 (02:57) **The Unique Workshop Format** - The festival is designed as an immersive, communal experience, not just a series of screenings.
- 5 (04:41) **Midlife Crisis vs. Midlife Transformation** - The discussion pivots to how Hollywood portrays midlife, contrasting "crisis" movies with deeper transformation stories.
- 6 (07:32) **What Attendees Take Away** - The hosts discuss the real impact of watching these films in a communal, discussion-based setting.
- 7 (10:04) **How to Create Your Own Film Club** - For those who can't attend the festival, Chip offers a practical alternative: start a film club.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Watch a great film, then share dinner with the person who made it. That’s the spirit of the MEA Film Fest, where stories on screen spark conversations and connections in real life.
In this Wisdom Wednesday episode, Chip Conley joins Derek Gehl to preview the festival and explore a question at its heart: how can movies help us see midlife, aging, and our own possibilities differently?
- Get a preview of the films, special guests, and festival experience.
- Discover stories of reinvention that go beyond the midlife crisis.
- Explore what your reactions to characters reveal about your hopes and fears.
- Bring those conversations home with a simple movie night exercise.
Tune in for films worth watching, people worth meeting
Timestamps:
(01:02) Chip’s Love of Film
(02:50) Inside the MEA Film Fest
(04:17) Midlife Crisis on Screen
(07:44) How Movies Shape Our View of Aging
(10:04) Starting a Film Club
(11:20) Films to Watch and Discuss
(14:51) What Movie Characters Reveal About You
(15:44) Finding Meaning in It’s a Wonderful Life
(17:06) Closing Thoughts
Learn more about MEA at https://www.meawisdom.com/
#ChipConley #MidlifeChrysalis #WisdomWednesday #MEA #MEAFilmFest #Midlife #MidlifeTransformation #Aging #Ageism #Movies #FilmClub #Reinvention #PersonalGrowth #MeaningfulConnections #SecondAct
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