{{For|the song by Spoon|The Way We Get By (song)}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2011}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = The Way We Get By | image = Way we get by.jpg | caption = Promotional film poster | director = Aron Gaudet | writer = Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly | producer = Gita Pullapilly, Aron Gaudet | starring = Joan Gaudet<br/>William Knight<br/>Jerry Mundy | music = Zack Martin | cinematography = Aron Gaudet<br>Dan Ferrigan | editing = Aron Gaudet | studio = Team A+G Productions, Inc. and Sunny Side Up Films, Inc. | released = {{Film date|2009|3|11|SXSW}} | runtime = 84 minutes | country = United States | language = English }} '''''The Way We Get By''''' is a 2009 Emmy-nominated documentary film directed by Aron Gaudet and produced by Gita Pullapilly, about a group of senior citizens in Bangor, Maine who greet U.S. troops at the Bangor International Airport. ''The Way We Get By'' had its world premiere at the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival, winning the Special Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film also won the Audience Award at the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fullframefest.org/releases/2009/090405.php |title=Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces Festival Award Winners |accessdate=2009-05-06 |last=Novell |first=Nancy |date=2009-04-05 |work=Press releases |publisher=Full Frame Documentary Film Festival |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506064149/http://www.fullframefest.org/releases/2009/090405.php |archivedate=2009-05-06 }}</ref> the Standing Up Film Competition at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and the Best Documentary at the Atlanta, Little Rock, Naples, Phoenix, and Newport International Film Festivals. The film received a 2010 Cinema Eye nomination for Debut Feature Film.
In May 2009, the film had its Maine premiere, one of the largest movie premieres in the state of Maine. Maine National Guard members lined outside the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus and greeted the subjects of the film and other greeters as they entered the auditorium. The Governor of Maine presented Gaudet with a special award recognizing the film.
''The Way We Get By'' aired on the critically acclaimed PBS series, ''POV'' in November 2009 and August 3, 2010. The film has since been re-aired as part of the ''America ReFramed'' series on World channel, another network airing primarily public television programming.
International Film Circuit released ''The Way We Get By'' in over 60 cities across the United States and Films Transit handled the international distribution.
In October 2009, ''The Way We Get By'' had a special screening on Capitol Hill. Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States, introduced the film and the entire Maine congressional delegation was present and honored the film. The next day, the film screened at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During this trip, Gaudet, Pullapilly, and the three subjects of the film, received a special invitation to meet with Vice President Joseph Biden at the White House.
AARP named ''The Way We Get By'' Best Documentary of 2009 in their ninth annual Movies For Grownups Awards.<ref> {{cite news |url= http://www.wabi.tv/news/10052/troop-greeters-documentary-to-be-honored-in-hollywood |accessdate= 2012-01-13 |title= Troop Greeters Documentary To Be Honored In Hollywood |first= Rob |last= Poindexter |publisher= WABI-TV }}</ref> During the acceptance speech, Gaudet called Morgan Freeman up to the stage for a picture with his mother, Joan Gaudet, one of the stars in the film, making for one of the most memorable highlights of the evening.
Gaudet and Pullapilly starting dating when they began making ''The Way We Get By'', their first feature-length film. In October 2009, Real Weddings Maine provided them with a high-end free wedding to celebrate all they had done to capture the heart of Maine. Over 60 vendors in the state provided their products and services. The wedding took place at the Retreat at French's Point. Their wedding was highlighted in the ''New York Times'' Vows Section<ref name=NYTVows>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/fashion/weddings/01VOWS.html|accessdate= 2012-01-13|title= Vows Preview:Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet|first=Lambeth|last= Hochwald|date= October 29, 2009|work= New York Times}}</ref> as well as other popular national wedding magazines and blogs.
== Notes == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/}} * {{IMDb title|1326900|The Way We Get By}}
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Way We Get By}} Category:2009 films Category:American documentary films Category:Films set in Maine Category:American independent films Category:2009 documentary films Category:2009 directorial debut films Category:2009 independent films Category:2009 English-language films Category:2009 American films Category:English-language documentary films Category:English-language independent films