Program Contents: 27 minutes. Comes With four 1-page discussion guides for professionals, family, community, & self-advocates.
Copyright Date: 1996
Captioning: None
A charming older gentleman tells about the forty years he spent inside Mansfield Training School, a Connecticut institution closed in 1990. Fred Calabrese tells of the unpleasant realities of decades of institutional life, then a move to his own apartment. And Fred is a disturbingly honest but overwhelmingly charming speaker on his own behalf.
Rather than imposing its own analysis, the video leads the viewer to understand and reflect on what institutional living and freedom have meant to one remarkable man. His reflections on life inside are intercut with footage expressing the ideals of the institution. Rather than a traditional, third-person documentary about the State institution or Fred's life, each speaks for itself. Fred talks about his life and shares his indomitable, lyrical spirit.