Joe Cornelius (center background), the director of the short film “Mike,” poses with the film’s subject, Mike Scoglio (center foreground) and the Scoglio family outside a/perture Theater in Winston-Salem after the film’s premiere at the RiverRun Film Festival on April 17. (photo by Keith T. Barber)
One of the most poignant moments in Joe Cornelius’ 19-minute short documentary film, “Mike,” comes during a candid interview with the title character, Mike Scoglio, near the film’s conclusion.
“I want to be a normal person,” says Mike, who was born with Down’s Syndrome.
Cornelius, a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, tells a beautiful story of parental love and perseverance that leaves audiences feeling confident Mike’s wish will someday come true, if it hasn’t already.
Such was the case during the film’s screening as part of a documentary showcase during the 12 th annual RiverRun International Film Festival on April 17.
Cornelius, Mike and the Scoglio family received a warm ovation from the audience at a/perture before the filmmaker described the daunting challenge of taking nearly 35 hours of film footage and whittling it down to 19 minutes.
“It’s like your baby,” Cornelius said. “You don’t want to let it go.” Twenty of the 35 hours came from old home movies of Mike and his older sister, Erin, taken by their parents, Pam and John. The remaining 15 hours came from time Cornelius spent with Mike.
“We have developed a lifetime relationship,” Cornelius said Cornelius submitted the film to UNCSA as his thesis project after working on it for nearly two years. Cornelius, who is hearing impaired, admits he was very emotionally attached to the film due to his friendship with Mike and the Scoglios. Mike’s older sister, Erin, is deaf.
“At first, it was just going to be more of a direct interpretation of the family, but more and more, I became more defensive of the image of the family,” Cornelius said.
As he spent countless hours with the family, he said the story began to evolve.
“[The story] changed drastically,” he said. “Basically, it was going to be all about Mike, but as I was doing it, I realized how great the family was, how important the parents were, how they back up Mike.”
Pam and John Scoglio said the fact that Cornelius is hearing impaired and the bond they watched him develop with their son created a level of trust necessary to open up their lives.
“We certainly could tell from Joe that he was going to be sensitive to the disability and he was going to be realistic about it, but at the same time, not put up anything that could damage Mike,” Pam Scoglio said.
In the film, Cornelius tells Mike’s life story in a linear fashion, relying heavily on old home movies to document his early development.
Cornelius shows a curious child underwent heart surgery as an infant, who didn’t begin walking until age 3. As Mike grows into adulthood, Cornelius reveals a passionate young man who loves baseball, Elvis, making movies and his job as a host at a local restaurant.
“The film really caught Mike,” Erin said. “It was good for other people who have similar experiences to see what it’s like what we went through. I’m really proud of him.”
“Mike” held its world premiere at the Asheville Film Festival last year, and was selected as a semi-finalist at the 2009 Angelus Student Film Festival in LA.
“I’m finding that a lot of people are able to relate to the film,” Cornelius said. “They know someone, maybe not necessarily someone with Down’s Syndrome, but with a disability. This film is not necessarily about Down’s Syndrome, but overcoming a problem.”
Mike echoed the sentiments of film festival audiences. “I loved the film,” Mike said. “When I first saw it, first time ever, I cried a little bit. It makes me so emotional. It’s very touching too; the film means a lot to me.”
wanna go?
“Mike” screens at a/perture Cinema — 5 p.m., April 23 UNCSA Gold — 2 p.m., April 24 a/perture Cinema —11:30 a.m., April 25
