Life, Animated — Trailer

source:   lifeanimateddoc.com

added: Fri, Jun 10th '16

Owen Suskind is the autistic son of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind. And this is the extraordinarily touching true story of how Owen and Ron found a way to communicate with each other by utilizing Owen's profound love for Disney movies.

Check out the trailer for "Life, Animated," the heart-tugging documentary that's based on Ron Suskind's best-selling memoir, chronicling his and his wife's 20-year struggle to communicate with their son, Owen, who was diagnosed with regressive autism, and became increasingly withdrawn and non-verbal at age 3.

It was only when Ron discovered Owen's intense fondness for animated films that he could finally have a conversation with his son by imitating one of his favorite animated characters -- the Gilbert Gottfried-voiced parrot sidekick "Iago" from "Aladdin." Their heartbreaking story has since been shared in a couple of television news segments and a widely-viewed video clip from a 2015 autism charity event, in which Owen and comedian Gilbert Gottfried reenacted a scene from "Aladdin" in front of a live audience (you can watch that youtube clip here).

Directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence, God Loves Uganda), "Life, Animated," which won a Directing Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, will be getting a theatrical release on July 1st.

synopsis:
From Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, LIFE, ANIMATED is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. This emotional coming-of-age story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence.

 

directed by   Roger Ross Williams

release date   July 1, 2016 (in theaters)