Thursday, September 16, 2010

Down Syndrome in the Movies!

The opportunities and possibilities for people with Down syndrome continue to increase. Here is an article and movie trailer where Evan Sneider, an actor who has DS, is one of the main characters. It looks like it's an intense drama, looking forward to seeing it!

Girlfriend

4 comments:

Lidia said...

I'm seeing this Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. I'll let you know how it is!

Ellen Stumbo said...

You just came up in my google alert ;)

I a not sure what I think about this movie. The trailer actually really throws me off.

However, since you have a Spanish speaker at your house :) you should see the film "Yo Tambien" with actor Pablo Pineda. Pretty phenomenal film and I really hope it makes it to the US soon!

You will not be disappointed! he is an exceptional man!

Cory said...

Aww! That was pretty intense to see. Evan seems like another precious person with some great acting skills!

Lidia said...

Just came home from seeing this. It's very much an "indie" film, very small and intimate, but all of the characters are very well written, complex and real. The storey behind the film is that the director, Justin Lerner, and Evan have been friends since high school, and Evan had a small part in a short film he made. He wanted to write a film around Evan and this is the result.

The story takes what's so wonderful about people with Down Syndrome - their trusting and loving nature, their open-heartedness, their honesty - and uses that as a reflection of our own flaws and weaknesses. Lerner has taken great pains not to make anyone totally bad or totally good, but the one constant is Evan. There's little mawkish sentimentality, I found it all quite authentic and respectful but didn't shy away from some of the attitudes that can still exist.

The director did a Q&A afterwards and actually phoned Evan, who answered a few questions from the audience. He was very witty and is clearly enjoying the attention! I'd certainly recommend the film.
Lidia