Screening of Side by Side Documentary by Ron Taylor
Join us at The Museum of Boulder for an In-Person Screening of the 35-year journey with Cerebral Palsy of Boulder native Micah and family.
Screening of Side by Side: 6pm-7:30pm In-person: Ron Taylor and his son Micah
Thomas T Reiley, MD, Clinical Professor, Colorado Children’s Hospital, retired, will introduce the film and Ron Taylor. Dr. Reiley also appears in the film as he was Micah’s neurologist first to diagnose his cerebral palsy and Father/Filmmaker Ron Taylor.-
Q&A: 7:30pm-8:00pm
Networking: 8:00pm-9pm
Side by Side shifts the public’s perception of disability from burden to celebration. Filmmaker Ron Taylor tells the story of his son Micah’s first 35 years of life with severe Cerebral Palsy. Micah has an innate enthusiasm that is magnified in his smile for all those who interact with him and for those who might wonder about parenting and educating a child with significant physical and mental challenges. Ron Taylor brings glimpses into a new nurturing paradigm for all parents, educators, professionals and advocates who care about the well-being and inclusion of all individuals in our contemporary, ever-evolving, “together we can” society.
Ron Taylor brings to audiences the significant moments from infancy to adulthood of his son Micah who has significant disabilities and Cerebral Palsy. Intimately recording on film and video with up-close and personal style, Ron captures the ups and downs, milestones and challenges, smiles and tears. In this 38-minute pilot to Ron’s series-in-progress, we witness Micah in several schools where he is fully included. His teachers provide insightful commentaries not only about Micah’s growth but also about their learning from his special needs.
In public, in-person, with power-point and Q&A sessions, Ron highlights from his many years of presentations several ‘lessons learned’ such as the reciprocal benefits of caregiving for caregiver and care-receiver, peer-facilitation in a mixed-ability classroom, and collaborative learning centers where students with different learning styles contribute to group projects. These are not sterile, didactic lessons presented in dry lectures, but flowing sound and light images that one finds in the best emotionally moving documentaries available today.
As social/political as Crip Camp is, Side by Side is the other side of the special village it takes to nurture a special child. Micah’s special family of parents, brother, caregivers, teachers and doctors comment on their work with Micah as he was also influencing their professional and personal growth.
Micah’s schooling is a model for progressive educational practices from person-centered instruction within a diverse learning community to collaborative learning centers where students facilitate other students in sharing diverse skills and abilities. The Meet Micah Movies, culled from 500 plus hours of documentation, provide an in-depth view of the many new opportunities for educating and nurturing exceptional children. As filmmaker Ron Taylor messages us in this extraordinary longitudinal study of his son, all children are special. “Parents Are Experts” attests a shirt Ron wears during public presentations at conferences and in support groups. “There is no such thing as normal. Every child is unique,” says Margaret Wheatley in the movie. Person-centered education to a diverse learning population is an opportunity for every student to learn as Micah has “at his own pace and in his own way” (from Ron’s book All by Self about Micah).
Filmed over 35 years in Boulder, Milwaukee, and Palm Beach.
“Best in Developmental Disabilities” Track at the 2015 Bakersfield Film Festival.
“Best of Festival” at the 2021 disability Film Festival in Aspen Colorado.
Click on the link below to check out the trailer for the film