Your Voice/Documentary Film/Far From The Tree/Andrew Solomon

Please join us for an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of a film version of Andrew Solomon’s bestseller, Far From the Tree.

Sunday April 27, 2;3:30

Ark Media, a Brooklyn-based documentary film company, is currently working on a film adaption of the groundbreaking bestseller Far from the Tree, by Andrew Solomon. The film will profile families in which parents are surprised and challenged by the children they have. Featuring mothers and fathers who are learning to parent extraordinary children — from those with dwarfism and Down syndrome to those who are autistic, prodigies and transgendered — the film will explore the tensions and questions universal to all families about identity, difference and the ways in which adversity unites us and enriches our love for one another.

The film is in its early days of research and development, but we are eager to meet parents of children with Down syndrome who would like to share their stories with us — off the record for now. At this discussion group, we’d like your help in understanding how the experience of having a child with Down syndrome compares with your initial expectations. How did being the parent of a child with Down syndrome transform your understanding of the condition? What do you know now that you didn’t know before and how would you articulate this for parents who learn the baby they are carrying has Down syndrome?