Dandy Kids Documentary (2008)

User Rating:

9.7/10   

Director:

Darla Rae

Writers:

Karen Hemmerle (writer)
Darla Rae (writer)

Release Date:

17 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Defining what it is to be a "Dandy Kid."

Plot:

One boys Aunt travel's across the country in search of of what it means to live with the many faces of Dandy Walker Syndrome, and how she can help those receiving a death sentence diagnosis to look for answers.

Plot Keywords:

Dandy | Malformation | Medical | Hero | Autism

Cast

Brian Blackwell	...	Himself
Benjamin Carson Sr.	...	Himself
Eric Cole	...	Himself
Bill Dobyns	...	Himself
Kathy Millens	...	Herself
Darla Rae	...	Narrator
Hunter Schultz	...	Himself
Chris Van Hollen	...	Himself
Congresswoman Heather Wilson	...	Herself

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Film It Productions

Trivia:

Screened before the United States Congress April 3rd,2008 and helped encourage Congress to pass a resolution H Con Res 163 Dandy Walker Syndrome directing the NIH national Institute of health to appropriate funds for research on Dandy Walker Syndrome. 105 co sponsors took the resolution to the house floor for a vote and it passed unanimously June 26th, 2008.

Touching, Enthralling

I caught Dandy Kids at a sneak preview and was both impressed and moved.

The movie begins with the filmmaker, Darla Rae, recounting a phone call from her pregnant niece: The baby is missing part of his brain. Doctors are encouraging her to terminate the pregnancy.

The baby's disorder is called Dandy Walker syndrome.

Soon, we are invited into intimate conversations of other parents of kids with the rare disorder. The thing is: No one--not even the doctors--knows much of anything about it. They can't even predict the outcome of children who have it. Some, in fact, do just fine! So why do doctors present such bleak outlooks? And what do parents do when faced with this unknown future--and unknown disease? And what can we--each one of us--do to help encourage the research desperately needed to help these families? Through interviews with doctors, researchers and parents, Dandy Kids explores these questions, all the while drawing us into what it must be like to be faced with the awesome responsibility of researching your child's disorder because even your own doctors don't know about it.

At the end of the film last night, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. And yet, it wasn't depressing. It was hopeful.

When you next get a chance to see it, well, you simply must. It has already made an impact on the national scene, helping get support for related legislation.