2006 SPROUT FILM FESTIVAL
SCHEDULE: SATURDAY
JONATHAN: THE BOY NOBODY WANTED
93 min./narrative/1992/USA
The true story of a boy with Down syndrome who was denied a life-saving surgery by his own parents, only to be adopted by a foster family who fought to get him the operation. This film features Chris Burke in a starring role.
THE KISS
1 min./narrative/1995/Belgium
A short film using the original camera invented by Lumiere Brothers in 1895. Made by Jaco Van Dormael, the director of The Eighth Day, this romantic short stars Pascal Duquenne.
SVEFN-G-ENGLAR
9 min./music video/2001/Ireland
This unforgettable and award0winning video, conceived by and supervised by the musical group, Sigur Ros, features the Perlan special0needs theatre group acting out a simple but beautiful play about the elements.
21 FRAMES PER SECOND
17 min./narrative/2005/UK
A man with Down Syndrome discovers there is more to life than films when he discovers the outside world.
NOTHING TO FEAR: BEHIND THE SCENES
45 min./narrative/2006/USA
A documentary film crew captures the behind the scenes happenings during the making of a vampire film. Reality and fiction become blurred as the seven actors with developmental disabilities lose themselves in their roles.
FOR MY FATHER
8 min./documentary/2004/Canada
After years of misunderstanding and miscommunication, this intensely personal film serves an apology from a young man to his father, who he has learned, is mentally challenged.
FLESH AND BLOOD
72 min./narrative/2002/UK
Adopted at birth, Joe is overwhelmed by an obsessive desire to trace his real parents after the birth of his daughter. When he discovers that his mother and father have developmental disabilities and were not aware they had a child, his world is blown apart.
THE THIRD PARENT
6 min./documentary/2006/USA
A documentary exploring the relationship between Ariana, an eleven-year-old girl, and Marcello, her five-year-old non-verbal autistic brother.
LIVING RIGHTS: YOSHI
29 min./documentary/2004/Netherlands
The eta touching portrait of a Japanese teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome who feels lost between two worlds and dreams of a solution to become ‘normal’.
MAKE ME NORMAL
50 min./documentary/2005/UK
What is it like to not understand the world you live in? What happens when the simplest daily tasks lead to anxiety frustration and even violence? This documentary offers a rare glimpse into the world of four students with autism.
SCHEDULE: SUNDAY
PERMISSION TO GROW
25 min./documentary/2005/USA
An episode from Random 1, a TV program on A&E, that focuses on two friends who meet and help total strangers. They encounter a shy young man with special needs who has one simple request: help him find his first date.
THE SILHOUETTES OF GORDON VALES
23 min./documentary/1982/USA
This film traces the life and extraordinary artistic ability of an unforgettable person who creates complex silhouettes by manually tearing construction paper.
BURT’S BIKERS
59 min./docudrama/1983/USA
A docudrama about a man’s efforts to teach children with developmental disabilities how to ride bicycles. This film is narrated by Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson and won the coveted D.W. Griffith Award.
A GIFT FROM GOD
3 min./documentary/2002/UAE
In the United Arab Emirates, children with Down syndrome are often hidden away at home or in hospitals. One exceptional family and their love for their child form the focus of this moving documentary.
JOHN AND MICHAEL
11 min./animation/2004/Canada
An emotionally moving love story about two men with Down Syndrome, this animation explores themes of love, loss and healing. Creatively given life through a unique process of back-lighting clay on glass, the shimmering result if what the director describes as “stained glass in motion”.
OUTSIDER: THE LIFE AND ART OF JUDITH SCOTT
26 min./documentary/2006/USA
From a lifetime of institutionalization to international acclaim in the art world, this film is an intimate portrait of a compelling, eccentric and talented individual who has prevailed in the face of daunting odds.
NITSAN & SAGI
58 min./documentary/2004/Israel
Their wedding was a magnificent and well-attended ceremony. However, Nitsan and Sagi are young people with Down Syndrome, and as such, their path to marital bliss became an ideal for a “normal” existence. The film accompanies the couple on their wedding day and to their new home in an emotional, thought-provoking and sometimes humorous fashion. in Hebrew with english subtitles
FOR MY FATHER
8 min./documentary/2004/Canada
After years of misunderstanding and miscommunication, this intensely personal film serves an apology from a young man to his father, who he has learned, is mentally challenged.
FLESH AND BLOOD
72 min./narrative/2002/UK
Adopted at birth, Joe is overwhelmed by an obsessive desire to trace his real parents after the birth of his daughter. When he discovers that his mother and father have developmental disabilities and were not aware they had a child, his world is blown apart.
THE THIRD PARENT
6 min./documentary/2006/USA
A documentary exploring the relationship between Ariana, an eleven-year-old girl, and Marcello, her five-year-old non-verbal autistic brother.
LIVING RIGHTS: YOSHI
29 min./documentary/2004/Netherlands
The eta touching portrait of a Japanese teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome who feels lost between two worlds and dreams of a solution to become ‘normal’.
MAKE ME NORMAL
50 min./documentary/2005/UK
What is it like to not understand the world you live in? What happens when the simplest daily tasks lead to anxiety frustration and even violence? This documentary offers a rare glimpse into the world of four students with autism.
