Cinema Libre announced this past week that documentary filmmaker Olivier Bernier’s Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner, Forget Me Not, will be available for the first time on DVD on Oct. 11.
The New York City public school system is a disgrace … a challenge for any student to navigate from pre-K to the 12th grade and come out with the semblance of an education. But what happens in a such a system for children with special needs?
Emilio Bernier is three-years-old and ready for school, but with Down syndrome in a massive and failing school system there is simply no time, no place for such a child. He will be warehoused; segregated from the mainstream and left behind. Period.
But the “system” wasn’t ready for Emilio’s parents, Hilda (who was a New York City special-ed teacher) and filmmaker Olivier Bernier (A Garbage Story, The Sunset Sky), who set about to document their son’s plight. The injustice of a system that has no place for a child with special needs was put to film.
During the filmmaking process — during their journey — Olivier and Hilda discover what an alternative system really looks like. How an inclusive educational system leads to each child reaching their full potential.
They moved beyond their own story to include parents from around the country who have face similar challenges … who share their own “eye-opening” experiences.
Forget Me Not amplifies the voices of the marginalized … a powerful, and sobering, look into an educational system that will always default to the easiest path unless challenged. Parents need to be advocates and never back down … Forget Me Not shows them what an inclusive educational system actually looks like; how it functions … and the results are night and day!
Bonus features include extended interviews.
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