Into the Spotlight is a documentary feature film that follows a Dallas-based theatre troupe, composed of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who are determined to write, rehearse, and perform their 11th annual original musical during the 2021-22 season.
With this movie, Thaddeus D. Matula offers a heartfelt story of how a screenplay, a stage and a theater program made up of adults with disabilities celebrate their creativity, explore life’s complexities and empower a community, in their own words and in their own way.
Giving the floor
Some themes are worn out. That’s what happens when tons of films have been made on a subject and it seems as if everything has been said and shown. And there are too many documentaries about people with disabilities going through something special in order to feel valued.
Yet Into the Spotlight stands out from the crowd. Most of the time, documentaries focusing on disabled communities are made up of experts explaining how these people feel, or we’re told how the life of someone with this or that disability is inspiring all the same. But here, the documentary is entirely designed to give a voice to the participants of the 11th edition of Spotlight.
Costume made by the crew
And it feels like there’s no staging or scripting behind the characters. You can sense that no one is speaking for them or on their behalf. Only disabled people are interviewed, and the only people answering the questions are disabled people themselves.
The director explains the project as follows:
“We set a guiding principle for this documentary that mirrors the entire approach of Spotlight Musical Theater: the individuals will speak for themselves and reveal to us their world. Into the spotlight is their story. In their own words.”
Because the play they will perform at the end of the process will have been written and composed by them. With the help of theater professionals, but by them, with their themes, their words and their ideas.
It’s because of all these details that I’d go so far as to say I’ve never enjoyed a documentary dealing with this kind of subject so much. And the cast and crew are a pleasure to watch.
Hiding nothing
Another great strength of this documentary is that it hides nothing. You really get the impression that the director is being very frank about the year-long preparation of the show. He hides so much that one sequence focuses on the death of one of the stage directors. A tragic death that the director and the cast decided to film. While this may seem like a lack of respect for the deceased, this tragic moment becomes an opportunity for viewers to enter the intimate world of people with disabilities who are going through an emotionally difficult time. How does an autistic person cope with bereavement? How does a person with Down’s syndrome cope with bereavement? Thaddeus D. Matula shows us this reality with tenderness and respect.
Moreover, the director doesn’t shy away from showing certain taboos. Among these, I’m thinking of the love story between two of the participants. They’re cute, they’re beautiful, and their disabilities slowly fade away as we find ourselves simply interested in the development of this budding relationship.
There’s also this trans autistic woman, who happens to take the viewer to a place they’ve probably never been. She’s one of the most articulate participants. With her, the director can show that a person with autism can also be a go-getter and determined, while revealing herself to be a stakeholder in a group of strangers.
A little more…
Thaddeus D. Matula doesn’t just follow this motley crew. He also makes a visually beautiful film. It’s as if the director wanted to reveal human angels.
The premiere
“A favorite quote of mine comes from Michelangelo, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” This concept, whether I had words for it or not, has always been the driving force behind my filmmaking. Simply put, chipping away to reveal the beauty that is already there. Upon being introduced to the Spotlight Musical Theater troupe — a group of late-teens and adult individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities surrounded by theater professionals and countless volunteers collaborating to create, rehearse, and present an original musical every year—I knew I was seeing the very embodiment of that freed angel. Because the entire operation, it’s sponsored by Highland Park United Methodist Church of Dallas through their Belong Ministry, is committed to amplifying the voices, providing an unexpected and welcome platform to share a vision of the world as they see it.”
I sincerely believe that Into the spotlight has everything it takes to advance mentalities and the image we may have of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
