Orinda Academy Presents: ORIGINAL MINDS, Premiere Screening of New Film, followed by Panel Discussion

Orinda Academy Presents:  ORIGINAL MINDS--premiere of new Tom Weidlinger Film, plus Panel Discussion

Five teenagers stigmatized by being in Special Ed. struggle to articulate how their brains work and how they learn.  They discover that they are smarter than they thought.  In a one-size-fits-all educational system, kids with learning differences suffer from lack of self-esteem. They become alienated and drop out. But the protagonists of ORIGINAL MINDS buck the trend. They work intensively with the filmmaker to tell their own stories. Their narratives reveal the unique approach to learning that each must discern and claim as his or her own if they are to succeed in the world. The film eschews the confusing thicket of clinical labels for learning disorders to touch on fundamental truths about how we all acquire and process information.

Panel discussion of local experts, including the filmmaker as well as Rona Renner, David Heckenlively, Beth Samuelson, Paul Osborne, and Orinda Academy--all of whom are noted for their work with learning differences--will be lively.

Tickets available for $12.50 at the door.  Doors open at 6:30.

View film clips and info at www.moiraproductions.com