As they celebrate this rite of passage in their Jewish faith, they defy expectations by challenging their profound limitations, creating confidence, and a profound sense of pride.
Autism is estimated to occur in as many as 1 out of every 150 births in the United States. There has been much debate, controversy, and concern over this little understood malady with no known cause or cure.
"A Vision Of Wholeness" offers hope and inspiration as we witness the transformational process possible as demonstrated under the heartfelt mentoring and commitment of Cantor Steven Puzarne.
“All too often, those with developmental challenges are viewed and measured primarily through the very narrow prism of everything wrong,” says Puzarne, who strongly believes in seeing the child as a whole, not as a diagnosis.
“Though the intensive efforts to isolate, quantify, and fix each shortcoming are well-intended, they often tend to overlook a person’s strengths and passions, impose demanding and unnatural regimens that strain family resources, and endlessly communicate messages of brokenness that can be just as damaging as the problems they’re designed to fix.”
The young filmmaker, Ben Duffy, explains that he got involved in this project via his mother Laura Mayer, who is heavily involved with the documentary as well.
“I was in my first and only year of film school, SVA [School of Visual Arts] in New York City, and I had wanted to spend the summer in Los Angeles to try and work on some film shoots, as well as meet pro skateboarders so I could start working as a skateboard videographer,” says Duffy.
“I became so enthused with Steve's theories and goals towards working with the spectrum children,” says Duffy, ”and I just couldn't help myself but to just ‘take it while it was hot.’ So I never went back to school and I started working on the documentary.”
The documentary took seven months to make, and according to Duffy “was just smooth and really fun actually.”
'All too often, those with developmental challenges are viewed and measured primarily through the very narrow prism of everything wrong.' Cantor Steven Puzarne
“I have made about 12 to 15 films in my life, and this quite possibly was the easiest one to make,” he continues. “The reason for that is because it was made completely for scratch, with an unlimited amount of time, and there was no script to follow, the actual filming was the writing. It was just a process of taking one right step to the next.
“I think the most rewarding part so far was just watching it completed with the people who were in it and a part of it,” says Duffy who acknowledges the movie as a milestone in his life.
Duffy understands, however, the need for more exposure of the film and its message of hope for those families and children with autism. The film will be showing at The Boston Film Festival at the end of September and in the Back Lot Film Festival in L.A. Oct. 8.
“Most rewarding to me is actually making a difference or making an impact.”
It is certainly evident from watching this film—which features experts like Leanord J. Greenspoon, from the department of Theology at Creighton University, and Venessa Ochs, a professor of the department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia—the potential impact it can make as it offers viewers modalities which can yield profound results.
It will urge and inspire us to reevaluate and consider new approaches and tools for this suffering population group.
Puzarne says, “My only goal is to guarantee that no person leaves this earth without the opportunity to fulfill the God-given talent they possess.”
