A New Kind of Listening

Filmmaker Kenny Dalsheimer documents a 2005 project spearheaded by the North Carolina–based Community Inclusive Theater Group, who created an original collaborative piece involving amateur performers and young people with developmental disabilities. The project employed drama class exercises to achieve a cohesive performing style and then adapted original poetic text penned by the company's disabled members, including some with autism. The most remarkable participant is Chris, a young man who was mislabeled as profoundly mentally retarded before being diagnosed with cerebral palsy. After years of having no means of communication, Chris is given the tools that enable his thoughts to be heard—and his insight is so dramatic that project organizer and director Richard Reho elevates him to the position of co-director. In a heartbreaking sequence, Reho liberates Chris from his wheelchair and carefully cradles him on the ground, evoking a poignant reaction from Chris (one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen in a nonfiction film). Dalsheimer incorporates home movies from Chris's childhood and footage of other participants during the project's evolution, backed with commentary from many involved, including Chris's mother. Serving up a wonderful glimpse of this daring attempt to address—and correct—harsh stereotypes regarding the developmentally disabled, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)