In July 2016, POV asked My Gal, Rosemarie filmmaker Jason Tippet what's happened since the camera stopped rolling.
Have you stayed in touch with Rosemarie and Ray since filming My Gal, Rosemarie? What's happened in their lives since the end of the film?
The last time I saw Ray and Rosemarie was about a year ago and they were both in the hospital waiting to have hip surgery. Ray would get up early on Thursday mornings and move his car across the way for street cleaning. One morning while Ray was moving his old wagon, he was hit by a car pulling out from a driveway. He was rushed to the hospital. A few nights later Rosemarie tripped at the apartment complex after returning home from visiting Ray at the hospital. She crawled to her apartment and fell asleep on the floor. The next morning she got enough energy to crawl to the phone and called 911. They were set up at different hospitals so I went to visit them separately. I had recently finished the film so brought it along. They both missed each other so much. The first time they saw the film was in the hospital and it brought them both to tears, they were so worried for one another and there was nothing they could do to be together. That was the last time I spoke with either of them.
How has the film been received by audiences here in the U.S. and abroad? (Have there been any surprising reactions to the film?)
I think people appreciate the film for the most part, not sure how they feel about it abroad. It's a slower paced film about slower paced people, that might send some running.
In what ways do you hope the film adds to conversations about relationships or the lives of senior citizens in the U.S.?
I wanted to make a film about love. I thought what Ray and Rosemarie had was unique, they didn't have much but they had each other. Ray returned from the war, met Rosemarie and fell in love. They decided to begin their life together. They started a moving business, bought a house. The business went under, they lost their house, and through it all Rosemarie stuck it out with him. I felt like the second things get difficult with relationships these days it's not worth working through it, I admired them and the love they had for one another.
What are you working on now?
At the moment I'm cutting Davy Rothbart's new film with Beachside Films. But on the weekends and whenever I have free time I've been making a film about Nick Thorburn of the bands Unicorns and Islands.