Gone, but not forgotten:

By Liam Fineout

JeffRyan loved politics the same way he loved FSU football — he knew all the players and coaching staff by name, and every Saturday in the Fall was dedicated to the Seminoles.

Maybe that name rings familiar. Ryan started his career with then-Senator Lawton Chiles, and eventually settled down in Tallahassee after Chiles became Governor. Throughout his time in Tallahassee and working with elected officials, Ryan developed a knack for political fundraising. Many politicians from all over the state of Florida knew him by name.

Over many years, Ryan eventually worked his way up to head fundraiser for the Florida House Democrats. And from 2016 to 2018, he served as president of the “Tiger Bay Club,” the well regarded nonpartisan political organization known for its spirited debates and events.

In 2012, Ryan parted ways with the House, but he still was working as a freelance political fundraiser. During this stint, his wife, Cindy Ryan, began noticing some concerning changes. Her husband was now struggling to pay bills, and frequently forgot key details about the candidates with whom he was working. Cindy Ryan visited doctor after doctor, but was fre- quently dismissed. Jeff Ryan had been in politics his whole life, so he could talk his way through anything, leading doctors to have a difficult time seeing anything wrong because of Ryan’s charm, despite cognitive checkups showing troubling results.

But in 2018, after years of persistence, Cindy Ryan found a doctor who took her concerns about her husband seriously. A few months later, the couple received the life-altering diagnosis: Early Onset Alzheimer’s. In 2023, Ryan’s Alzheimer’s had progressed to the point where it consumed all parts of the family’s life.

That’s when Pierce Ryan, the couple’s eldest son and a 23-year-old graduate of Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts, picked up his camera and decided to make a documentary about his father’s final moments.

The documentary follows the final six months of Jeff Ryan’s life, captured all in Point Of View format by his son. Rather than focusing solely on his father, Pierce Ryan turns the lens toward his mother, sister, extended family, and himself, documenting the family’s journey as they learn to navigate life with a “disappearing man.” Acting as a one-person crew, Pierce Ryan captured an intimacy, the grey area of families being caretakers, rarely seen in Alzheimer’s documentaries.

“I wanted to make something that captured Alzheimer’s the way I experienced it — the way people in local Alzheimer’s support groups actually talk about it,” Pierce Ryan explains.

“When you live with someone who has dementia, them forgetting your name becomes so common that it doesn’t really affect you.”

“But when my father would suddenly have a lucid moment and, for a minute, actually remember my name, that hurts. That’s what sticks with you.”

The film is built around these small, and oftentimes dark private moments, aiming to immerse viewers in an experience analogous to living through the disease. But unlike most films about Alzheimer’s or dementia, the documentary has its fair share of humor.

“I think people are going to be surprised by how funny it is. I don’t think you can go through something like this with- out developing a sense of humor about it. My dad was such a jokester — I know he would’ve appreciated that side of it,” Pierce Ryan said.

The film has already gained industry-wide recognition. The documentary is sponsored by FilmIndependent, an LAbased organization that has championed independent filmmakers for more than 40 years. It has also secured a partnership with the sales agency Impronta, whose catalog includes the Oscar-shortlisted and Emmy-winning documentary “Going to Mars.”

“The producers and I got notifications from FilmIndependent and Impronta within 24 hours of each other — it was completely surreal,” said Pierce Ryan.

But at the end of it all, politics runs in the family. Not only did Pierce serve in student government while at Florida State, but during the filming of the documentary he briefly followed in his father’s footsteps, serving as Finance Director and Head of Fundraising for Rep. Mitch Rosenwald’s winning House District 98 campaign.

“He wasn’t there to guide me, but I leaned on childhood memories. I didn’t bring up who my dad was, but they would usually figure it out. The love I received from people in Florida politics — Democrats and Republicans alike — was something I never expected. So many people had great things to say about my dad and what he meant to them.”

The documentary is currently in post-production, with completion set for December 2025 and a planned release in late 2026. To learn more, visit https://www. filmindependent.org/sponsored-projects/ cindy-jeff-and-i/.