Rachel Is

About the Project

In her feature directorial debut, Charlotte Glynn moves home to chronicle her sister Rachel's last year in school. Rachel, her only sibling, is mentally retarded. The resulting film, Rachel is, moves past the safety of political correctness in presenting Rachel's disability and into the most intimate and sensitive areas of their family's life. Rachel is mysterious, funny, and difficult and wants what any person her age would want - to move out of her mother's house. Unfortunately, Rachel can't be left alone and the social services needed for her to live an "adult life" are unavailable, making her dream of independence seem impossible.

Rachel's mother, Jane, is at her breaking point. Rachel is a difficult person to live with and the relationship between mother and daughter has become strained. With Rachel's future uncertain, their day-to-day lives are filled with fighting and frustrations. Both women want independence from one another, but at what cost? What is Jane willing to sacrifice for Rachel to be independent? What happens to a parent when they don't have the support they need to give their child a good life?

In this observational style documentary, Glynn answers many of these questions while capturing the most raw and revealing moments of Rachel and her mother's relationship. She dives into her family's life in order to understand how Rachel sees the world and how the world sees her. As a result, Rachel Is is an honest, heartbreaking, and funny film about parenthood, disability, and the universal struggle for happiness.

Rachel Is informational viewing guides will give educational institutions and advocacy organizations both locally and across the country a comprehensive way to integrate the film into existing programs and create programs around the film. In the last decade, funding and awareness of disability issues has decreased significantly and has been overtaken by increased interest in disorders such as Autism, leaving the general public with the misconception that mental disabilities are potentially curable diseases. It is critical that films and informational resources such as Rachel Is be made available to the public, so that the discussion about these issues can be re-focused on the challenges that those affected by mental disability live with and toward providing a stronger system of understanding and care.

The Fledgling Fund Impact

The Fledgling Fund is excited to provide outreach and audience engagement support for Rachel Is. We recognize that options for those living with disabilities are not discussed enough, especially among our elected officials. So often, we make decisions for people whom are perfectly capable of making or contributing to decisions for themselves. Also, this film raises important questions about the families of those living with disabilities and the kind of support we can give them. This film, along with other films we have supported in this category, will work together to take a comprehensive look at options for those living with disabilities and their families and help to bring us closer to conceptualizing a solution.