A brother with Down syndrome is the focus of the film 'Music and Clowns'

Illustration by Alex Widdowson

By Louise Kinross

A tender film called "Music and Clowns" in The New York Times is a window into the life of filmmaker Alex Widdowson's brother Jamie, who has Down syndrome and limited speech. "We rarely see portrayals of the diverse, ordinary lives of people who have Down syndrome (unless we are connected to someone who has it)," Alex writes. "Much of what we hear instead is based on a medical narrative...This film attempts to complement the medical narrative with firsthand stories of what it is like to have someone with Down syndrome in your family."

This is a not-to-be-missed short documentary.