| Young Director Award 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Passion Project | Northern America | Silver Screen |
Director: Joris Debeij
Production Company: Mphasis Productions
Producer: Marieke Oudejans
Country: United States
Synopsis:
The short film Perfectly Normal documents the life of Jordan, a middle-aged man with Asperger's Syndrome living in Los Angeles. He has found stability through his long-term job and his solid relationship with Toni, who has multiple disabilities. Whereas Jordan often gets pulled into his own chaotic world, he has also learned how to make deliberate choices to stay grounded in reality.
A strong self-advocate, Jordan proves that he is not a disabled person, but a person living with a disability—someone, he says, who "normal people" could actually learn from. Besides, he argues, "everybody is not completely normal" anyway.