Chinese-language film Ocean Heaven (海洋天堂) will open the Reelabilities: Pittsburgh Film Festival on October 26. The film stars Jet Li as the father of a young man with autism. Wikipedia provides a summary:
Ocean Heaven is about a terminally ill father, Sam Wong (Jet Li) as he works his job in an aquarium and struggles to look after his 21-year-old son Dafu, who has autism (Wen Zhang). Sam has single-handedly brought up his son since his wife died 14 years ago and looks after him day and night attempting to help him learn basic tasks in order to care for himself, as well as searching for a home for his son before he passes away. As the story progresses, the growing relationship between father and son as well as the community around them become clearer. Ling ling (Gwei Lun-mei) plays the role of a clown who is part of a small traveling circus (they perform in the aquarium for a short period of time) and who gets on well with Dafu, leading to a close friendship between them.The movie plays at 7:00 on the 26th at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the Northside (map). Tickets are available online for $25 for adults and $15 for students, though films not part of opening night are $10 and $5, respectively.
Reelabilities is a multi-city festival
dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities