Emmy Article

First News Paper Article (Direct link)

Film students at Barrington High School will unveil a 20-minute Down syndrome documentary at GiGi's Playhouse Down syndrome awareness center's annual Spread the Love Gala Saturday.

The video will chronicle a day in the life of a sibling of a child or young adult with Down syndrome, said junior Rob Weidner.

» Click to enlarge image

Barrington High School junior Rob Weidner (center) is preparing a documentary video about children with Down syndrome and their families. Standing behind him are some of the students also working on the project including (left to right) Randy Lorenz, Christian Carlstrom and Marco Scola.
(Brian O'Mahoney/Staff Photographer)

» Click to enlarge image

Barrington High School junior Rob Weidner is preparing a documentary video about children with Down syndrome and their families.
(Brian O'Mahoney/Staff Photographer)

"I knew from the beginning this was going to be the biggest video that anyone from the high school has ever done," he said.

GiGi's Playhouse, 1069 W. Golf Road, Hoffman Estates, was founded by South Barrington resident Nancy Gianni and it offers activities, resources, educational programs and support to people with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

"People often think about children with Down syndrome but don't think about their siblings and how much those siblings love their brothers or sisters (with Down syndrome)," Gianni said.

She said in previous years the gala video was professionally shot but Joe and Cris Elias--organizers of the Great Minds Foundation which holds an annual video challenge for high school students--put Gianni in touch with the students about doing the video.

"It's not just an opportunity to create a video, it's an opportunity for high school students to interact with kids with Down syndrome," she said.

Weidner said he was initially concerned he would have difficulty working with the Down syndrome kids, but he quickly realized that they aren't much different than most kids.

"I've gained an appreciation, not only for those with Down syndrome, but their families and the people that work with them," he said. "It's made me see how many great people there are in the world."

Weidner and other students took over 14 hours of footage for the documentary. He said the 20-minute video is more extensive than the five-minute videos he usually creates for class.

"It's a nice opportunity to make a connection in the community and let the students use their talents to make a difference," said video production teacher Jeff Doles.

The video will be played at the gala, which will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at Belvedere Banquets, 1170 W. Devon Ave., Elk Grove. Tickets cost $100. For more information visit www.gigisplayhouse.com. Weidner said he plans to post the video on his Web site, www.weidscreenproductions.com.