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Director Roger Ross Williams

The inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. This emotional coming-of-age story follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence.

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Roger Ross Williams is the first African American director to win an Academy Award. His directorial debut, Music by Prudence, a film he also produced, won the 2010 Academy Award for documentary short subject. Williams next directed the feature documentary God Loves Uganda, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at over 60 film festivals worldwide, winning more than a dozen awards before being shortlisted for a 2014 Academy Award. 

Prior to moving into independent filmmaking, Williams was an acclaimed television journalist and producer for over 15 years for outlets including TV Nation, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, PBS, Comedy Central and Sundance Channel. Williams serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of the Sundance Institute. He frequently mentors filmmakers from the developing world and under-­represented communities on how to channel personal adversity into their art. Williams splits his time between upstate New York and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

“Director Roger Ross Williams’ storytelling skills are at their finest in an engaging story suffused throughout with emotion that never descends into mawkishness… intelligent and heartfelt without ever being heavy-handed, Life, Animated is sublimely inspirational filmmaking” – Peter Howell, The Toronto Star.

The fascinating and emotional coming-of-age story, Life, Animated, follows Owen Suskind as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence. An autistic boy who couldn’t speak for years, Owen memorized dozens of Disney movies, turned them into a language to express love, loss, and kinship. The family immersed themselves in a kind of Disney “world”, portraying animated characters, communicating with him in Disney dialogue and song. They all emerge together, revealing how, in darkness, we all literally need stories to survive.

“Life, Animated, like Owen, is optimistic and should provide a measure of comfort for the many families affected by a complex disorder.” – John Fink The Film Stage
“A beguiling mix of animated storytelling and narration that doesn’t flinch from exploring the emotional highs and lows that accompany a life with autism.” – Lanre Bakare Guardian