Grains of Sand is a moving, reflective documentary that follows the close friendship—and yearly meeting—of two women, separated by an ocean but united by a lifelong bond and their art, as they approach their 80th birthdays.

Margot and Barbara are filmmaker Sarah Gross’s mother and mother-in-law, respectively. Margot, a native of England who now lives in San Francisco, CA, and Barbara, who lives in Hamburg, Germany, meet yearly on a farm in Germany. The farmhouse becomes a yearly ritual where the women, both still active in their work in stone, painting, and collage, meet to share their art, reflect on their lives, and enjoy their friendship.

Filmed over eight years, the 85-minute film tells “a different kind of coming-of-age story” following the women’s conversations and memories. Working on large stones they have brought to sculpt, the women’s conversations about creativity and aging are accompanied by voice-overs from Gross that tell their story and show how these older women are not just looking back on life, they are living it.

Screenings of Grains of Sand are available along with a workshop designed for aging audiences and their caregivers. Led by Gross and museum docent Suzanne Reich, the workshop includes post-screening discussion and reflection on aging, as well as a short collage project for participants, to aid in reflection on the film’s themes.

View the Grains of Sand trailer, and learn more at Sarah Gross’s Bugle Films website.