These trips lead Luke to cross paths – and strike up a friendship – with Pete (Will Rastall), a young man serving community service. So much so that he sneaks out of the home to wander around the surrounding countryside. This is a change the active and caring Luke struggles to come to terms with. Gull’s film tells the story of Luke (Steven Brandon), an endearing man with Downs Syndrome, who is sent to live in a care home following the death of his mother. It is a stunning accomplishment of small-scale British filmmaking – life-affirming and powerful in so many ways. As Stephens warns, such an approach should be viewed as a ‘canary in the eugenics coal mine’.įor more weight behind Stephens’ words, you only have to watch Jane Gull’s affecting film My Feral Heart. Stephens’ speech was hopefully heard around the world at a time when countries such as Iceland and Denmark are heading towards the elimination of Downs Syndrome through pre-natal diagnosis and abortion. Those were the stirring words of activist John Franklin Stephens as he spoke at the United Nations last month about the treatment of those with Downs Syndrome. I need to be loved, valued, educated and, sometimes, helped.’
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