2024 Down Syndrome Film Festival

The second Down Syndrome Film Festival will showcase three films featuring people with Down syndrome in leading roles, including Color My World with Love, Chicken, and CrossRoad: Where Down Syndrome Meets Autism. An audience Q&A with some of the performers and creators will follow.

COLOR MY WORLD WITH LOVE – directed by Peter Benson

2022, 1 hour 24 minutes

Emma’s daughter Kendall becomes engaged, but Emma is concerned as Kendall and her fiance have Down syndrome and Emma worries she’s not ready to take this step. Lily D. Moore and David DeSanctis play the happy couple, while DSRF student Tiana Kirkegaard appears in a supporting role.

CHICKEN – directed by Lucy McNulty and Emma Pollard

2023, 14 minutes

Chicken tells the story of a down-on-her-luck, recently-single sister. She is forced to move back into her childhood home. She reconnects with her brother, who has Down syndrome. Chicken stars Leo Award-winning DSRF student Aaron Waddingham alongside Lucy McNulty.

CROSSROAD: WHERE DOWN SYNDROME MEETS AUTISM – produced by Glen Hoos, directed by Matthew Hoos

2023, 19 minutes

CrossRoad features three families whose child has both Down syndrome and autism. The families open their lives to let us see both the joys and the challenges they experience as they navigate multiple disabilities. DSRF speech therapist Liv Meriano explains the similarities and differences between the two conditions, why it can be difficult to identify autism in a child who has Down syndrome, what to do if you suspect your child might have autism, and how to support a child with Down syndrome and autism.