A family’s unique process of connecting with their autistic son is chronicled in the new documentary feature “Let Me Be Me,” a trailer TheWrap can exclusively reveal.
The moving story uses home video footage to show how the Westphal family struggled to cope when their 6-year-old son Kyle was diagnosed with being on the Autism spectrum. “Back then, autism meant there’s nothing you can do and they have to go into an institution,” Kyle’s mother says in the trailer. But by embracing a unique treatment by which Kyle’s mother and father went into Kyle’s world rather than forcing him into theirs, Kyle felt empowered to embrace himself, his familial connection and his passion.
Indeed, Kyle explains in the trailer that as a kid his favorite film was Disney’s “Cinderella,” and as he became obsessed with dresses and fashion shows, his family embraced what he loved. That led to Kyle becoming a successful fashion designer as an adult, and the documentary emotionally chronicles how this family’s approach to parenting their son paved the way for a stronger connection.
Directed by Dan Crane and Katie Taber, “Let Me Be Me” premiered at DOC NYC festival last year and will be released in theaters by Greenwich Entertainment on Feb. 25. The film is produced by Wavelength.
