''Think of Me First as a Person'' is a
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
and
home movie
A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
about Dwight Core Jr., a boy with
Down syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
. The footage was originally shot throughout the 1960s and '70s by Core's father, Dwight Core Sr. The footage was later discovered and completed by the filmmaker's grandson, George Ingmire.
The film was first shown at New Orleans' 2006
Home Movie Day. Later that year, it was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
, an honor bestowed every year to twenty-five films deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
's statement announcing the 2006 additions to the Registry called the film a "loving portrait by a father of his son with Down syndrome" that represented "the creativity and craftsmanship of the American amateur filmmaker."
"Librarian of Congress Adds Home Movie, Silent Films and Hollywood Classics to Film Preservation List"
The Library of Congress, 27 December 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
The film's title comes from the 1974 Rita Dranginis poem of the same name.
See also
* '' Lily: A Longitudinal View of Life with Down Syndrome''
Notes
External links
*
Library of Congress press release
Editor and Director George Ingmire's website
Website for the film "Think of Me First as a Person"
''Hollywood Reporter'' article that includes information about new non-Hollywood additions to the National Film Registry
2006 films
United States National Film Registry films
Documentary films about children with disability
Documentary films about Down syndrome
2006 documentary films
American documentary films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
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