ReelFilms – Deej

DJ Savarese (“Deej”) finds comfort in words, as expressed by his poetry belying his high school senior standing. Yet he only “speaks” through a text-to-voice synthesizer. Adopted by a loving and supportive family, Deej grows up to navigate the college admissions process as a young adult on the autistic spectrum, while confronting obstacles to inclusion. Deej is currently a Open Society Foundations Youth Exchange/Human Rights Initiative Fellow, working to make literacy-based education, communication, and inclusive lives a reality for all nonspeaking people.

DIRECTOR: ROBERT ROOY | DOCUMENTARY | 72 MIN. | USA | ENGLISH