Rivertown Film & ReelAbilities Festival present NATHAN'S KINGDOM

The topic of Autism has been much discussed, written about, portrayed in film and television. But the “treatment” that the spectrum disorder receives in “Nathaniel’s Kingdom” is one of the most unique. On Friday, April 5th, Rivertown Film and the Rockland Reel Abilities Film Festival will present the film at the Nyack Center. There will be a post-screening discussion with Director Olicer J. Munoz, producer Michelle Opitz, and actors Jacob Lince and Madison Ford. Dr. Jeanne Marron, Clinical Specialist and Community Educator at West Bergen Medical Healthcare will moderate the discussion.

A coming of age fantasy directed by Olicer J. Munoz, the film centers on Nathan, a 25-year old autistic man (played by Jacob Lince, who is autistic) who is dependent on his younger sister Laura, struggling with issues of her own. They subsist without parents and battle social services, who want to remove Nathan from Laura’s care. The siblings cope by inventing a fictitious safe haven called “The Kingdom” and promise to find it one day. When Laura takes Nathan to live with her in L.A., things grow more difficult. Nathan demands they find the kingdom he believes will solve their problems, and Laura, losing hope, goes along. This is a film that is as much about the perspective of an adult living with autism as it is about what’s it’s like to take care of someone with the affliction.

The ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York, founded in 2007 by the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different abilities. In 2010, ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York expanded into a national program, presenting its one of a kind programming in cities throughout the United States.

The program begins at 8pm at the Nyack Center (58 Depew, Nyack). Doors open at 7:30pm. General Admission Tickets are $8/ Rivertown Film Members-Seniors, $8/Rivertown Film Members-Students, $9/Rivertown Film Members, $9/Students and Seniors-Non-Members, and $12.00/General Admission. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rivertownfilm.org and at www.brownpapertickets, or by calling (800) 838-3006, or at the door.