Normie

Our country today feels less empathic and more fractured than ever before. The quest for power and control leaves little room for questions. But in a culture where everyone is clamoring to be the superstar, I find myself more and more drawn to the misfit. Perhaps this is because I myself feel fundamentally flawed and acutely aware of my own brokenness. Everywhere I turn, I am bombarded with unequivocal facts, but what I deeply crave is a creative platform to ask vulnerable questions. I hope to have achieved that in NORMIE.

The seed for this film was planted 22 years ago when close friends gave birth to a daughter with Down syndrome. Over the years I watched her parents struggle to balance their loving desire to protect their daughter with her increasing campaigns for typical independence, a tension that is universal for most parents. Twenty years later, in 2016, another couple dear to my heart received a birth diagnosis of Down syndrome with their second daughter, Palmer. Around this same time Annemarie, the first daughter, had just returned home after graduating from a higher education preparatory experience. For both families, future obstacles seem big and external: high medical needs, lack of financial literacy, hopes for social integration. But as I pulled back the layers, deeper existential questions birthed from sincere pain, loneliness and fear were revealed.

I am always drawn to themes that are spiritual in nature, but I also know that one’s beliefs, whether philosophical, religious or political, are rarely overturned by coercion or power absent of compassion. Instead of using the screen to preach answers at the audience, I always hope my films “flip the lens” and draw the viewer into honest questions for themselves. In NORMIE that question is––What gives a person value? Or better yet––What gives you value?

Since one of my goals is to make films that challenge our preconceived notions, I resolve to remain openhanded, beginning with a broad concept, but allowing the production process itself to unfold and morph the story. Working with a very limited budget allowed us to fully embrace filming opportunities as they organically developed. By using every opportunity to film the main character, Annemarie, we discovered prominent themes and nagging questions that were in sync with the gravity of the overarching subject.

The experience I am most trying to communicate with NORMIE is that of wonder. My style as a filmmaker is to reveal the magic and beauty of the natural world in a way that draws people into a spiritual experience. The natural sciences can explain the diverse shape of snowflakes, the color of wildflowers and the trajectory of the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, but it cannot explain an individual’s awe or admiration. This imagery brings intimacy to the frame, while the specific struggles in Annemarie’s life, her genuine connections, and the real humor give the film an authenticity that I hope will make it emotionally powerful and relevant for all kinds of people.