From Classroom to Case Study: How Silver Screen Filmmakers Club Became a Creative Aging Model

At first glance, a filmmaking course designed for adults ages 65 and older might seem like an unexpected project for consultants at a strategic planning and project management firm. For our team at Nexus Strategy & Implementation, the connection is more natural than it may appear.

(ID: Gretchen Sipp and Jessica Renslow stand with their cohort of Silver Screens at IU's CURE center at the showcase.)

The work of helping communities plan their futures often begins with understanding and shaping their stories (who they are, where they’ve been, and where they want to go). Much like filmmaking, effective strategic planning requires translating complex ideas, research, and community input into clear narratives that people can understand and rally around.

Designing The Silver Screen Filmmakers Club required many of the same skills NSI brings to our work with cities and organizations:

·         Conceptual thinking

·         Structured learning

·         Distilling complex concepts

·         Creating engaging, accessible content for broad audiences

In 2023, a leap of faith by one of our senior consultants led to the creation of a storytelling program that is now helping shape conversations about creative aging across Indiana.

(ID: Jessica Renslow stand before a full house at the Spring 2024 Cohort's Short Film Showcase.)

As a writer, filmmaker, and planner, Jessica Renslow, had long considered storytelling her creative home. That year, she expanded her practice into a new role, teaching artist. With that shift came the idea for a course called The Silver Screen Filmmakers Club, a program designed to help older adults learn the fundamentals of digital filmmaking while reclaiming authorship over their own life stories.

What began as a single course concept would later be featured as one of four case studies in the Creative Aging Guidebook published by the Indiana Arts Commission and will be highlighted during the statewide Creative Aging Conference on March 23, 2026. Notably, the program was selected as one of just four case studies from 166 participating sites across 44 Indiana counties, underscoring its impact and innovative approach.

(ID: Indiana Arts Commission Creative Aging Guidebook cover page with blue, chartreuse and red geomatic patterns.)

But the course’s success was not the work of one person alone. Renslow’s fellow NSI senior consultant, Gretchen Sipp, played a key role in developing the hybrid teaching materials and helping facilitate the program, turning a creative idea into a structured learning experience accessible to participants across settings.

Reimagining Who Gets to Be the Storyteller

When Renslow first began designing the course, she kept returning to a simple question: Why are older adults so often positioned only as audiences rather than creators?

The Silver Screen Filmmakers Club was built around a powerful premise that storytelling does not expire.

(ID: Silver Screener recording the voice over for her film project.)

Over the course of a multi-week sequential program, participants explored the foundations of cinematic storytelling (structure, visual language, editing decisions, and voice). The deeper focus was on the lived experiences participants brought with them (memory, identity, humor, grief, love, and resilience).

Rather than simply learning filmmaking techniques, participants stepped into the role of director, documenting narratives drawn from their own lives. The classroom quickly became something more than a workshop. It became a collaborative storytelling community.

(ID: Silver Screener editing her film project.)

Training Through a Statewide Creative Aging Initiative

Renslow’s journey into teaching artistry was shaped by the Lifelong Arts Indiana initiative, a program led by the Indiana Arts Commission that provides professional training and funding for artists developing creative programming for older adults.

The initiative follows a two-step model:

1. Participatory arts training for artists and service providers, grounded in a creative aging framework designed with national experts.

2. Implementation funding that empowers trained participants to launch programs in their own communities.

Over five years, the program distributed $514,600 in funding to 107 artists and organizations, ultimately reaching more than 2,000 older adults statewide. For Renslow, participating in the program provided both structure and validation. The training offered language for ideas she had long believed that creative aging is not charity work, but rigorous arts education rooted in dignity, collaboration, and respect.

(ID: Group of people ages 65+ discussing the film projects.)

Building a Hybrid Learning Model

While Renslow designed the course concept and curriculum framework, fellow NSI senior consultant Gretchen Sipp helped bring the program to life through thoughtful graphic design.

Sipp worked alongside Renslow to develop hybrid teaching materials, ensuring the course could function across multiple learning environments and participant needs. She also helped facilitate sessions, supporting the collaborative classroom dynamic that became central to the program’s success.

Their partnership reflects a hallmark of our work at Nexus Strategy & Implementation, combining creative vision with practical implementation strategies. Together, they translated filmmaking education into an accessible format for older adults balancing storytelling exploration with clear technical guidance.

(ID: Silver Screener storyboarding her film project.)

Research That Strengthens the Case for Creative Aging

One of the most significant aspects of the Lifelong Arts Indiana initiative is the research supporting its impact.

In partnership with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community, the Indiana Arts Commission conducted a multi-year evaluation of the model between 2022 and 2024.

The findings were striking.

Participants reported statistically significant improvements in both mental and physical well-being, measured using the nationally validated SF-12 health survey. The evaluation showed that high-quality, sequential arts programming led by trained artists can produce measurable mental health benefits for older adults, particularly in rural communities.

(ID: Silver Screener explaining her film project.)

For Renslow, the research confirmed what she had already witnessed firsthand.

Week after week, she saw participants light up when sharing stories that had been tucked away for years. She watched new friendships form and confidence grow as participants saw their narratives translated onto screen.

The research put data behind those moments.

Creative aging, it turns out, is not simply a meaningful activity, it is a measurable health intervention.

(ID: Lifelong Arts Indiana Creative Aging Summit invite photo collage banner with colorful stripes.)

A Course Becomes a Case Study

When Renslow learned that Silver Screen Filmmakers Club would be featured in the Creative Aging Guidebook, Lifelong Arts Indiana: How to Implement a Successful Creative Aging Program, the recognition carried both gratitude and responsibility.

The guidebook distills five years of programming into a practical toolkit for artists and organizations interested in launching their own creative aging initiatives. It covers everything from budgeting and program design to the science behind the health benefits of creative engagement.

For Renslow, seeing her course included as a case study meant that the model might help other artists build similar programs across the state.

One participant in the Lifelong Arts initiative summed up the broader impact:

“Without these programs, exposure to the creative arts for older adults doesn’t exist for some areas.”

Contributing to a Statewide Movement

The momentum behind creative aging continues to grow. On March 23, 2026, the Indiana Arts Commission will host the Lifelong Arts Indiana Creative Aging Summit in partnership with the University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community at the University of Indianapolis campus.

(ID: Black and white map of Indiana listing the congressional districts showing how IAC funding is dispersed.)

The free, one-day event will bring together artists, aging service providers, libraries, and arts organizations to expand access to arts learning opportunities for older adults throughout Indiana.

(ID: Lifelong Arts Indiana Creative Aging Summit invite red banner with colorful stripes.)

Silver Screen Filmmakers Club will be part of the broader conversation at the summit, highlighting how creative programming can improve well-being while creating meaningful work for artists. For Renslow, Sipp, and our team at Nexus Strategy & Implementation, what began as an idea in 2023 has grown into part of a statewide movement centered on dignity, storytelling, and connection.

(ID: Silver Screener standing with her granddaughter in front of her self-designed film poster.)

The success of Silver Screen Filmmakers Club reflects a broader strength that defines the work we strive to do at Nexus Strategy & Implementation. As a strategic planning and project management firm, NSI frequently works with complex data, research findings, and multi-stakeholder initiatives. The challenge is not only generating insights, but translating them into clear, engaging narratives that people can understand and act on.

(ID: Silver Screener standing in front of his self-designed film poster.)

Through their work designing and facilitating this course, Jessica Renslow and Gretchen Sipp demonstrated how storytelling can transform research and program outcomes into accessible, human-centered experiences.

(ID: Silver Screener standing in front of her self-designed film poster.)

Just as participants in the course learned to shape personal stories into compelling films, NSI applies the same principle in its consulting work, turning data, strategy, and evaluation into digestible content that resonates with broader audiences, builds alignment among partners, and helps communities see the impact and possibility within the work. By bridging analysis with narrative, our firm ensures that important ideas don’t just exist in reports we inspire action.

You can access the Indiana Arts Commission's Creative Aging Toolkit here.

(ID: Silver Screener seated in a wheelchair in front of her self-designed film poster with her companion behind her.)