Portraits of Emotion: The Story of an Autistic Savant

Streaming video - 2007

Portraits of Emotion is a feature length documentary film that follows over the course of four years the life of 14-year-old Jonathan Lerman, an artistic prodigy who is diagnosed with autism, a lifelong developmental disability that affects learning, communication and social interaction. While capable of drawing astonishing portraits that capture the nuances of human emotion, Jonathan is unable to effectively verbally communicate his feelings. By giving the audience an in-depth look inside Jonathan's life, Portraits of Emotion builds awareness about the effects that autism has on a family over time. By answering questions about why people with autism act the way they do, this film will make viewers more comfortable with people who are ..."different," and will help ameliorate society's attitudes toward the disabled. Sometimes heart-wrenching, at other times comedic, Jonathan's story encourages people to reevaluate their assumptions about intelligence, talent and disability.. Although he struggles to connect with others verbally, Jonathan is able to process his world visually. He draws compulsively, his sure strokes caricaturing people he knows, faces from magazines, or popular rock and roll bands. Of particular interest to those who follow the world of "outsider art," over one hundred of Jonathan's portraits have been sold to collectors and admirers for prices of up to more