Private Project

UNSCRIPTED LIVES

A powerful, socially conscious film that highlights a small town in Vermont which has embraced their developmentally disabled citizens. This funny, touching and uplifting documentary follows an enrichment center as they stage an original musical alongside local townspeople. With heart-wrenching honesty, the film provides intimate access to the lives of these often invisible members of our society. Guaranteed to strip away any preconceptions, it will remind you of America's ability to find love in our differences. Executive Producers Chris Cooper and Marianne Leone, whose son had cerebral palsy, call it “an antidote to these difficult times.”

  • James Sadwith
    Director
  • James Sadwith
    Writer
  • Luke Kellerhouse
    Producer
  • Nerissa Edwards
    Producer
  • Chris Cooper
    Executive Producers
    Acting: too many to list. As EP: My Own Normal, Intelligent Lives
  • Marianne Leone
    Executive Producer
    Acting: Goodfellas, The Sopranos EP: Intelligent Lives, My Own Normal
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 6, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    89,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Catalina International Film Festival
    Catalina Island
    United States
    September 25, 2025
    Best Documentary award
  • Breckenridge Film Festival
    Breckenridge, CO
    United States
    September 25, 2025
    World
  • Carmel International Film Festival
    Carmel-By-Sea, CA
    United States
    October 5, 2025
  • White River Junction Independent Film Festival
    WRJ, VT
    United States
    March 5, 2026
  • Cinequest
    San Jose, CA
    United States
    March 12, 2026
    Kaiser THRIVE Award "for the festival's most inspiring and transformative film"
  • Omaha Film Festival
    Omaha, NE
    United States
    March 14, 2026
  • Ramsgate International Film Festival
    Ramsgate, UK
    United Kingdom
    March 28, 2026
    European
Director Biography - James Sadwith

Jim Sadwith's TV movies, miniseries and drama series have won or been nominated for over thirty-five Emmy Awards and Golden Globes. He has been twice nominated for Emmys and won the Emmy for Best Direction with the five-hour miniseries "Sinatra." In addition Jim has twice been a DGA Award finalist and once a finalist for the Humanitas Award.

Additionally, several of Jim's projects received special recognition. "In Broad Daylight" was singled out by TIME magazine as one of the ten best TV offerings of that year. His 6-part ABC-TV anthology series "Gun" was the premier show launching the Trio Channel with its series "Brilliant But Cancelled." And the ABC-TV/Hallmark Hall of Fame TV Movie "A Smile as Big as the Moon" was given a special award from The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences because of "its ability to inspire, inform, motivate and change lives."

Add Director Biography
Director Statement


To be honest, I had not always felt completely at ease with people with disabilities. But then I agreed to direct one of the Zack's Place-Woodstock, VT annual musicals, and I was touched by a kind of magic that many people describe working or volunteering with the participants. After writing and directing two more of these musicals, I decided to try to share that magic with audiences by simply letting them experience a production from beginning to end just as I had. My hope is that viewers will come to love these people like I do, and, perhaps, some will come together and wonder if their community, too, could start a center for their citizens with disabilities – a center that enriches not only the lives of its participants but the greater community as well.