Mahopac Natives to Show Autism Film at NYU
The truth and awareness that can be generated from a documentary film can be powerful,which is why Mahopac natives Ben Duffy and Michael Sassano use that medium to tell stories.
“Why make things up, when there are so many incredible stories to tell,” said Duffy, 23, who is a junior at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.
Duff and Sassano have been best friends since they were 14 and since graduating Mahopac High School in 2007 have working on film projects as a team.
They choose topics they know and love. Their first film was the acclaimed documentary “We Are Skateboarders,” which premiered in 27 venues around the world, gained worldwide DVD and iTunes distribution.
Sassano also won Best Undergraduate Film Award at the 2010 Ivy Film Festival and the 2010 US film and video competition for his short experimental film “Excerpts from Suki’s Diary.”
Their second full-length film “HeartChild” shares the skateboarding setting, but is a more intimate documentary for the duo because it also deals with autism, a topic they know well because Sassano has a 20-year-old brother, Jason, who has a very severe case of autism.
“HeartChild” is a film about Crys Worley, founder of The A.skate Foundation, an organization that promotes “Skating with Kids through Acceptance, Therapy, and Education” by teaching kids with autism how to skateboard. A.skate has made major strides in the skateboarding and autism communities in recent years, gaining support from major corporations like Pepsi and Vans.
The film works to shed light on the selfless character of Worley and the amazing work the organization is doing to help children along the autism spectrum across the country as well as internationally. It’s a powerful and inspirational story about a mother’s undying will to provide for her kin, despite the troubles of raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder and her own life threatening heart problems.
“I was on a skateboarding website and I saw a post about A.skate,” said Duffy. “I loved what the organization was doing so I contacted Crys and told her I wanted to do a film about it.”
Duffy and Sassano shot most of the film in 10 days in Alabama, where A.skate is headquartered. They then filmed additional footage at A.skate clinics in California, New York, New Jersey and Ireland.
“I learned that you find a lot of inspiration from autistic children because if they can smile and laugh with their disability than people who do not have a disability should smile and laugh a lot more than we do,” said Duffy. “Seeing those kids at the clinics all happy really just changed my whole perspective on life.”
There have been “HeartChild” screenings across the United States and on March 15 the documentary will be at NYU’s Cantor Theater.
“With the screenings I hope A.skate gains more awareness,” said Duffy. “I want cities that have held clinics to realize how important the program is and consider making it a weekly or monthly thing. For cities that have not held a clinic yet, I want them to host one with A.skate. I people to see the difference it makes in these children’s lives.”
To see a trailer for “HeartChild” visit heartchildthemovie.com.
The screening at NYU’s Cantor Theater, located at 36 East 8th Street in Manhattan begins at 8 p.m. There is a $5 admission fee.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.