FCHS Film Project is a Winner

From screenings in New York to the Netherlands, a documentary film with a Fairfield connection is gaining international acclaim. “A Pony and His Boy” shows the power of a pony and the effect that he has had on one small boy. Josh, an 8-year-old with Down Syndrome, had been afraid of animals all his life, especially horses. One summer afternoon, he agreed to sit on the neighborhood pony and before he could change his mind, his Mom swept him up and put him on Berry’s back. The relationship that started that day became life-changing, not only for Josh and Berry, but for everyone who loves them. Julianne Neal, the Coordinator of Visual and Performing Arts for the Fairfield County School District, was contacted by Lisa Diersen and asked to produce and direct a film about the story, and she never hesitated to work on the project. Neal, who spends summers and weekends working on documentary film production, also wanted to include her Fairfield Central High School students in the process. One special connection that would prove to be important was also the tie to the FCSD Special Services Department, since there has been a two year partnership with the Visual and Performing Arts department to determine the effect the arts can have on discipline and referrals.

The connection continued when Bruce Anderson brought one of his horses to FCHS for a wellness experience. Two of the students in Renee Green’s class have Down Syndrome and were there for the visit. Not only were they enthralled with Marley, Anderson’s equine partner in his Natural Humanship work, one of them was able to show-case her hand-eye coordination and tactile muscle memory by braiding Marley’s mane. What made the project even more immersive was the quality of the film footage captured by the FCHS theatre students for the editing process. Some of the camera angles created by Tobias Walker and Curtis Martin became part of the finished film, as Amber and Tyler connected with Marley and India braided. An earlier edit of the film was entered in the EQUUS Film Festival in New York in November and won the Best Documentary Short in its category. One of the most powerful moments in the film is an interview with FCSD Coordinator of Special Services, Ann Cureton. While a slideshow of original footage details the story of Josh’s infancy and early childhood, Cureton’s interview tells about the difficulty for a parent in accepting that a child has a disability. Her reading of Emily Perl Kingsley’s poem, “A Visit To Holland” creates an emotional tie to Josh’s family for the audience. The addition of the Fairfield student footage enhanced even more of Cureton’s interview and gave viewers a different perspective of animals and the special bond that they can create with people.

According to Neal, the most meaningful screening of the film so far was the private one on Thursday, March 21st, World Down Syndrome Day. As the students who filmed the scenes sat down for the first time with the students who were in the scenes in the Lecture Hall at FCHS, they were all able to see the results. “It was really rewarding to see the excitement from India, Amber and Tyler when they saw themselves onscreen,” she said. “And it’s great to know that Tobias and Curtis and the rest of the theatre students had the experience and are listed in the credits of a film that is getting so much attention in the public.” The film will screen in Sedona, Canada, Raleigh, Tryon and Pennsylvania this spring and has been featured in magazines across the US, New Zealand, Austria and Germany. Another exciting invitation came for a special screening in June for the National Down Syndrome Congress in Pittsburgh. The NSC Film Fest is organized by Gail William son of Kazarian, Measures, Ruskin & Associates Talent Agency, CA and screens during the General Congress on June 28th.