Documentary “Age Matters” Premieres April 27 at Appalachian Joe Murphy as a professor in Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education. Documentary maker Joe Murphy of Boone has turned from bluegrass, barbecue and automobiles to tackle a new topic: growing older. Murphy’s 26-minute video documentary “Age Matters” will premiere on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m. in Appalachian State University’s Edwin Duncan Hall Room 03. A reception will follow. Admission is free and the public is invited. Murphy takes a whimsical look at his own aging as he asks people from 5 to 86 about their views of growing older. “I can remember when I thought people who were my age were ancient,” said Murphy. “Now that I’m that age (55), I certainly do not think of my self as being ancient.” Murphy thinks of himself as still in his 30s. “I think most people have a vision of themselves at a time in their life when they were really happy, productive, doing good things, and that image stays there even though they continue to age,” he said. Murphy weaves photos of himself at various ages throughout the documentary as he asks others about their ideal age, how they feel about their current age, why people conceal their age and what they anticipate about getting older. The documentary also includes interviews with Reich College of Education colleagues Alice Naylor, Jeff Goodman and Jeff Fletcher; Boone residents Carol and Edwin Dennis Jack Groce and Glenn Hubbard; and Blowing Rock resident Tui St. George. “Age is a hot topic because the baby boom generation that I’m in is just now getting old,” Murphy said. “In the next 20 or so years, there’s going to be a lot of retiring hippies. Hippies with money can be dangerous,” Murphy says with a laugh. Joe Murphy as a student at Davidson College. Murphy says that while making the documentary he realized lots of people are having a great time in their old age. “It really doesn’t have to be something to be feared,” he said. Murphy’s other works include “Slow Food: Fast Times” about the social, economic and culinary significance of barbecue in the South; “Auto Bond” about society’s obsession with automobiles; “Doc & Merle” about Grammy award-winning musicians Doc and Merle Watson; and “Hot Lime: The Great Blue Ridge Fresco Experience” about artist Ben Long’s fresco-painting project in Glendale Springs. Segments of Murphy’s work have aired on CBS’s “Sunday Morning,” ABC’s “World News Tonight,” the Learning Channel and public television stations across the country. Murphy directs Appalachian’s N.C. Teaching Fellows program. He has taught film and video production courses in Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education since 1975.