Monica & David Alexandra Codina, USA, 2009, 68 minutes
Sunday, May 9 | 2:00pm | Vancity Theatre
At a posh and romantic restaurant, Monica and David celebrate their first anniversary together. Rather spontaneously, David decides that the wait staff should sing a song in their honour. Monica is thrilled when servers oblige the slightly odd request and sing “Happy Anniversary To You” — and she should be. Surviving the first year of marriage is no small feat for anyone, but this duo has accomplished it with an additional challenge, they both have Down Syndrome.
Filmed through the loving lens of the bride’s cousin, Ali Codina, Monica & David begins shortly before the wedding. A lot happens during their first year together; the pair relocates to a new home in a strange city and David is diagnosed as a diabetic. Interviews with family members show what a crucial role their two broad-minded mothers play in Monica and David’s lives. Both of their biological fathers abandoned their wives and children within a year of their birth.
From its fairytale beginning, the film increasingly focuses in on humdrum everyday reality: from the importance of routine to the dilemmas experienced by close family members, who tend to be overprotective. The next step is to find jobs for the couple.
Best Documentary Feature, Tribeca Film Festival
2nd Place in Audience Award, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
Director’s biography Monica & David marks Ali Codina’s directorial debut. She was recently named one of the “10 Filmmakers to Watch” by The Independent. Codina spent four years at the Miami International Film Festival as Outreach Manager and Programmer, and brought Cinema Tropical, the lead alternative distributor for Latin American cinema, to Miami. Her film experience began nine years ago, as an intern for Big Mouth Productions, after graduating from Bowdoin College. Codina serves on the Boards of The Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade and Coconut Grove Cares. She is currently directing a short documentary on a 96-year-old farmer in rural Connecticut.
Preceded by: Tying Your Own Shoes Shira Avni, Canada, Canada, 2009, 16 minutes
An animated, artful documentary that offers an intimate glimpse into the exceptional mindsets and emotional lives of four adult artists with Down Syndrome.
