The Sprout Film Festival will celebrate its 9th year this spring at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I had the pleasure of attending last year's festival with a good friend. The unifying theme of the films is developmental disabilities - a mix of documentaries, narratives, music videos, etc., starring or written by people with disabilities.
The year before (2009), I attended a traveling film festival in Geneva, N.Y., featuring several films. One of the films entitled "The King of Camp" had been written by and starred a cast of actors with developmental disabilities. The villain of the piece was a counselor who was condescending and micromanaging; every time he was thwarted, the audience roared its approval. At the New York showing, a frazzled and impatient staff person is outsmarted by his client with Down Syndrome. Again, the same reaction from the audience!
What a moment of revelation - clearly, this is a commonly understood complaint in this community (like wives complaining about husbands refusing to ask for directions)- but not one that I (a non-disabled person) was ever aware of! The festival is an amazing opportunity to learn, to appreciate, and to think in new ways. Check it out if you can!
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