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Monica & David

[2009]
TFF 10
Feature Documentary | 68 min | World Documentary Feature Competition
Credit: Photographer: Jose Miguel Photography

Synopsis

Monica and David are in love. Truly, blissfully in love. They also happen to have Down syndrome. Both have strong and long relationships with their respected mothers. Ali Codina's affectionate documentary is an intimate, year-in-the-life portrait of two childlike spirits with adult desires as they prepare for their fairy tale wedding and face the realities of married life afterward. Taking immense pride in their new roles as husband and wife, David wants to bring home the bacon, and Monica wants to fry it in the pan. They want babies of their own. But their unique circumstances still have them living with Monica's mother and husband. How will this unique family face its challenges and move forward?

Codina is also Monica's cousin, lending a warm, familial quality to the filmmaking. The camera is just another member of the household—it is winked at and confessed to, and the door is closed in its face as Monica and David settle in for their first night as a married couple. Their tender kisses and pet names are captured and treasured, but along with their story is one of two different mothers who sacrificed and struggled against an intolerant world to provide for their children.

--Sara Nodjoumi

About The Director(s)

Alexandra Codina was named one of "10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2009" by The Independent. She is involved with advocacy and strategic planning for several nonprofits and is currently directing a short documentary on a 96-year-old farmer in rural Connecticut. Monica & David is her first film.

Director Statement

When I began this project, the immediate concern was helping people understand the love and commitment felt by David and my cousin, Monica, several weeks before their wedding. There was also a personal interest in getting inside Monica and David's heads—what do think and feel beyond the happy exterior? As the project evolved, I realized the enormous void in all issues related to adults with Down syndrome and the 156 million intellectually disabled in the world. In 1983, adults like Monica and David only lived to be 25, and today they can live into their 60s and older. Monica (37) and David (31) are exceptionally loving, witty individuals, with childlike spirits yet the needs of adults their age. Through the everyday joys and struggles of this dynamic duo, the film aims to allow audiences to experience the life of an adult with Down syndrome and value their right to a full existence.

Film Contacts

Press Contact
Heter Myers
Murphy PR
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 212 414 0408
Email: hmyers@murphypr.com
Print Source
Alexandra Codina
Email: ali@monicaanddavid.com