Life, Animated
Description
Winner of a Sundance directing prize and one of that festival’s biggest hits, Life, Animated offers the astonishing and deeply moving true-life story of a young boy with autism who takes refuge—and even learns to communicate—through the animated films of Walt Disney. At the age of three precocious toddler Owen Suskind begins to withdraw from the world and his parents, Ron and Cornelia; he is later diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which leaves children unable to communicate and fearful of making contact with others. His silence and isolation is broken, however, through a most unlikely source: films, such as Aladdin and The Jungle Book, which his parents realize that he can recite almost line by line. Based on the best-selling book by Ron Suskind (which emerged from a highly praised New York Times Magazine article), Life, Animated unveils Owen’s true story, revisiting his difficult youth, and catching up with him now as a young man beginning his own relationships. And those beloved movies (most on VHS) are still with him. A joy for Disney fans, this transformative documentary is a beautiful testament for all those who believe in celebrating one’s differences and one’s passions, and a radiant tribute to the power of film.
Director/screenwriter/producer Roger Ross Williams began his career in television, working at Comedy Central and for Michael Moore’s satirical show TV Nation. He has created documentary series and specials for such networks as the BBC, CNN, MSNBC and the Discovery Channel. In 2010 he won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short with Music by Prudence, about the disabled Zimbabwean singer Prudence Mabhena. In 2013, he directed the feature documentary God Loves Uganda(SFIFF 2013), involving American anti-gay fundamentalists in that African nation.
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/158403314?autoplay=1Film Details
Language English
Year 2016
Runtime 91
Country USA
Director Roger Ross Williams
Producer Julie Goldman
Writer Roger Ross Williams, David Teague
Editor David Teague
Cinematographer Tom Bergmann
Music Dylan Stark, T. Griffin