'Calendar Girls' movie now streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+

Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press
·2 min read

Southwest Florida’s Calendar Girls dance team are getting even more national exposure. The documentary movie “Calendar Girls” just started streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+.

Film distributors Greenwich Entertainment announced the news Feb. 21 on Facebook.

The 83-minute documentary stars the local dance team made up of retirement-age or near-retirement-age women. They’re all between 50 and 80 years old, and most are 65-70.

Katherine Shortlidge, the team’s program director and a founding member, said last year that she hopes the movie and its message inspire people — especially older people who might think their best years are already behind them.

Meet the Calendar Girls: Senior dancers get SWFL movie debut at Fort Myers Film Fest

More about the documentary: Inspiring senior dancers star in new movie at Sundance, then U.S. theaters

“I hope it just reminds people, as they age, to find a passion and stay active and stay healthy,” Shortlidge said. “And stay busy, whether it’s your mind or your body.

“I hope it inspires people. There’s more after retirement other than reading a book or sitting in a chair or watching ‘Gunsmoke.’ There’s more to it.”

The movie can be rented for $3.99 on Apple TV Plus and $5.99 on Amazon Prime. You can also buy the DVD or a digital copy.

“Calendar Girls” has been traveling the festival circuit since it premiered in January 2022 at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It got a red-carpet screening in May 2022 at the annual Fort Myers Film Festival.

A still from the documentary "Calendar Girls," premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The inspirational, full-length feature follows the Southwest Florida dance troupe of the same name.
A still from the documentary "Calendar Girls," premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The inspirational, full-length feature follows the Southwest Florida dance troupe of the same name.

The fest’s founder and director, Eric Raddatz, called it a superb documentary with a “brilliant and thrilling” approach to storytelling.

“The Calendar Girls’ stories are much deeper than just dancing,” Raddatz said in May 2022. “Their volunteerism and dedication as a group has brought great meaning and importance to each other as well as the community."

Film makers Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen of Sweden were visiting Cape Coral family members in 2018 when they saw the Calendar Girls at a Touch-A-Truck event.

They loved the idea of a dance team made up of mostly senior-citizen women — especially when most dancers you see are much younger. It made them start to question their own prejudices.

“Why are we surprised to see a bunch of women in their '60s dance, flirt and just have a lot of fun?" the directors said in the movie's press materials. "Is our mental picture of older people out of date?”

Eva Nash and JJ Jones of the Calendar Girls perform during the Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival Parade on Saturday, March 12, 2022.
Eva Nash and JJ Jones of the Calendar Girls perform during the Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival Parade on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Loohufvud and Martinsen spent two years traveling back and forth between Sweden and Cape Coral as they followed the Calendar Girls and tried to understand why those dancers do what they do.

Learn more about The Calendar Girls dance team at calendargirlsflorida.com.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1). You can also call at 239-335-0368.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: 'Calendar Girls': Watch Fort Myers dance team on Amazon, Apple TV+