Preview
WELCOME TO MY BRAIN
Featuring Paul Serafini, Liam Farrer, Marc Russel, Zachary Bearinger, Brittany Krogstad, Maureen Brentnall and Laura Haslam
Directed by Corrie Neyrinck
Saturday, March 13
Cardel Theatre (6010 12 ST SE)
Very few people emerge from adolescence without a few scars, but being a teenager can be especially tough when you have a learning disability. There are several types, many of which cause people to act a little differently, and we all know how merciless teenagers can be with people who are different. As a result, learning disabled teens can have withdrawn personalities.
"It’s been identified that kids with learning disabilities have problems with social skills," says Eryn Neilson, program director of the Learning Disability Association of Alberta, Calgary Chapter (LDAA-CC). "Because a lot of them have been called ‘stupid’ throughout the years, they automatically digress socially," she explains.
This prompted the LDAA-CC to design a program to help teenagers develop their social skills, while making a 15-minute documentary called Welcome to My Brain. This is the second year the program has been in place. Last year the LDAA-CC produced a film called Saturday Cartoons.
For Welcome to My Brain, seven kids ranging in ages from 12 to 15 got together with two counsellors and filmmaker Corrie Neyrinck over an eight-week period to make a what-it’s-like-to-be-me video.
"I came to them with a concept, and gave them each a wax-cast brain," says Neyrinck, who gave the kids carte blanche to use the model to express what it was like inside their minds.
"They couldn’t sit and focus to write, so film was the perfect medium," says Neyrinck. Each participant was in charge of his or her two-minute clip, to talk about feelings and experiences. Neyrinck emphasizes that the kids had free range to come up with visuals to accompany their narratives. One participant wanted laser tag and another used abstract paint splashes to visualize his thoughts.
The film was made expressly for submission at the Picture This… Disability Film Festival, yet the project leaders kept the focus on the process. "The purpose of the film isn’t necessarily a wide viewing, and even the education side isn’t the reason we did the program. We did it so these kids could develop social skills," says Neilson.
"They’ve developed friendships, they continue calling each other and spending time together," says Neilson. "For us it’s very successful."
The experience also whet the filmmaking appetites of several kids, many of whom have expressed interest in editing, screenwriting and producing, says Neilson.
"I was intimidated," Neyrinck confesses. "They’re so smart. It was just phenomenal to see the way their minds work." Neilson adds that the kids think differently than typical teens, and the chance to meet others like them proved beneficial.
Thirteen-year-old Paul Serafini, who has attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, is enthusiastic about both the program leaders and the activities.
"If we had some difficulties, they're extremely kind about it. They'd talk about
it with you if you wanted," says Serafini. He especially liked laser tag, and "driving a car getting paint balloons hucked at it."
"It was a really good program overall," says Serafini, who is looking forward to seeing the film on première night. Both he and Neyrinck agree they would definitely participate in a similar program again.
Tickets are by donation, please call Eryn at 283-6606 ext.102 for more information. |
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