Fausto Also

Juan Manuel Repetto's documentary follows Fausto Celave as he becomes the first student with autism (or Asperger's syndrome—the terms are used interchangeably throughout here) to enter Argentina's Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Much of Fausto Also captures Fausto working on the computers he loves to tinker with and answering questions that he often prefers to avoid, but his mother Mercedes provides a good deal of information about his earlier years (using home movies to show a frizzy-haired tyke who was once diagnosed as having little prospect of ever talking). Mercedes is obviously a woman of steely determination who saw education as a key to her son's assimilation into the wider society, and she continues to be his champion, albeit clear-eyed regarding the difficulties facing her son. Fausto is also seen working with Ezequiel Santillán, a gregarious mentor who helps the lad prepare for university examinations while also bonding with him over his work on computers. And we see child psychologist Christian Plebst patiently explaining to university staff not only the special needs that Fausto might have but also telling them that due to the astronomical increase in diagnoses of autism, more and more students along the spectrum will likely arrive on campus. Without sugar-coating the case, Fausto Also underscores the vast potential of youngsters who in a less enlightened time might have been cavalierly dismissed. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)