PRAGUE -- Thessaloniki's docufest unveiled a lineup Thursday featuring a strong showing of U.S. pics in its celebration of work keyed to the Athens Special Olympics later this year.
Tribute to work that explores disabilities, the lifestyles and the misunderstandings surrounding them, will include 30 pics such as the world preem of Adam Larsen's offbeat "Neurotypical," the word autistic people use to describe those without the syndrome, and "Embraceable," a look at the joyfulness of Williams syndrome sufferers.
Lizzie Gottlieb's "Today's Man" considers the often overlooked dimensions of adult life for people with Asperger's, while "For Once in My Life," helmed by Jim Bigham and Mark Moormann, is an engaging look at The Spirit of Goodwill Band, consisting of 28 members with mental and physical disabilities who show off the transformative power of music.
Michel Orion Scott's "The Horse Boy" follows a journey through Inner Mongolia by a couple hoping to cure their 5-year-old son of autism, while "Living with Fragile X," by Kathy Elder and Greg Mishey, chronicles lives touched by a little-known genetic syndrome that in many ways emulates autism.
Fest launches March 11-20 with a docu workshop led by the European Documentary Network intended to foster emerging filmmaker voices from the region.
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