Deej movie screening

WATCH the movie and MEET the star and the director!

https://www.deejmovie.com/

Join us for a free screening of the award-winning documentary Deej, a groundbreaking film that follows the journey of DJ Savarese, a gifted young writer and advocate for nonspeaking autistics. A 2017 graduate of Oberlin College, DJ will be on hand for Q&A. Be prepared to be transformed by this young man’s incredible journey and his vision for inclusion of all neurodiverse people – in family, school and community – highlighting, especially, the experience of nonspeaking autistics in our/their quest for equal access to society.

Brought to you in partnership by PAUSD, PAEA, PTAC, CAC, REEL, and the Magical Bridge Foundation.

WHEN & WHERE

Thursday, October 10
Haymarket Theater, Palo Alto High School
50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto
6:30 p.m. – Seating Begins
7:00 p.m. – Screening Begins
RSVP at https://deej-palo-alto-community.eventbrite.com

ABOUT THE FILM

Abandoned by his birth parents and presumed incompetent, DJ Savarese (“Deej”) found not only a loving family but also a life in words, which he types on a text-to-voice synthesizer. As he dreams of college, he confronts the terrors of his past, society’s obstacles to inclusion, and the sometimes paralyzing beauty of his own senses. DJ dreams of college and insists on standing up for his peers: people who are dismissed as incompetent because they have neurological differences.  Will DJ find freedom for himself and others? Shot over a six-year period, Deej reveals not only what the ideal of full inclusion requires but also what it can accomplish. With unflinching candor, Deej reveals what it takes to make the goals of inclusion and disability rights a reality. Learn more at www.Deejmovie.com.

WHO IS DEEJ?

DJ Savarese graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College in May 2017 with a double major in Anthropology and Creative Writing. An ASAN Scholar Fellow, he was also the recipient of Oberlin’s William Battrick Poetry Fellowship and their Comfort Starr Award for meritorious scholarly work in Anthropology. His poems and prose have appeared in The Iowa Review, Seneca Review, Prospect, Disability Studies Quarterly, StoneCanoe, Wordgatherings.com, Voices for Diversity and Social Justice: A Literary Education Anthology, and A Doorknob for the Eye (chapbook). Currently a 2017 Open Society Foundations Youth Exchange/Human Rights Initiative Fellow, he works to make literacy-based education, communication, and inclusive lives a reality for all nonspeaking people.

***P.S. Arrive early! Parking will be tight at Paly so please plan to arrive by 6:30 p.m. and consider biking, walking or carpooling.

Hosted by REEL