HBO Ennis' Gift: A Film About Learning Differences

[Guest guest]

I was fortunate enough to watch some of Ennis' Gift: A Film About

Learning Differences -a show on HBO late last night. (Someone asked if I

ever sleep -apparently not!)

It's like a Chicken Soup for the Soul Documentary for Learning

Disorders. You will not believe where these people came from -what they went

through -and who they are today!

Talk about bringing us the " happy ending fuzzies " !!

Here's some information from a number of sites (LD Online, HBO, Bill

Cosby's site) about this! ~

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Ennis' Gift: A Film About Learning Differences

60 minutes- (CC), In Stereo

Filmmaker Seftel pays tribute to Bill Cosby's son, Ennis, who

worked with children with learning disabilities.

Some of the world's most talented athletes, writers, business

leaders, actors, and artists struggled to learn to read, write,

learn mathematics, or express themselves in school. Their stories

are the subject of the film " Ennis' Gift: A Film About Learning

Differences " which will be aired on HBO Family in April and May,

2002.

" Ennis' Gift " is inspired by the life of Ennis Cosby. Introduced by

Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes, the film includes special appearances by

Earl , Henry Winkler, Schwab, Danny Glover,

Wagner, Rauschenberg, Bruce Jenner, and others who

refused to be limited by their difficulties or defined by labels.

They, like Ennis Cosby, found gifts within their differences.

The 52-minute documentary film was produced by Boston filmmaker Josh

Seftel in collaboration with the Hello Friend/Ennis Cosby

Foundation. It has been shown to sell out crowds in Boston,

Philadelphia, and Dallas. It has been described by writer Tom West

(author of In the Mind's Eye) as a " national treasure. " The headline

of a review in the Boston Globe described the film as " an Insightful

Gift. "

The Hello Friend/Ennis Cosby Foundation was founded in 1997

by Bill and Camille Cosby to honor the memory of their late son,

Ennis. His common greeting to friends, old and new, inspired the

name of the Foundation. The Foundation was established to celebrate

the life and fulfill Ennis' goals.

Hello Friend's mission is to " Let no one with learning differences

be denied the lifelong joy and fulfillment of learning. " The

Foundation works to create fundamental changes in services,

attitudes, educational systems, families and communities, in order

to unlock the gifts of creative accomplishments that benefit all.

For more information, please visit http://www.hellofriend.org

October schedule:

Tue Oct 1 09:45P HBOF- HBO Family

Fri Oct 11 12:15A HBOF- HBO Family

Wed Oct 16 10:00P HBOF- HBO Family

Mon Oct 21 11:00P HBOF- HBO Family

Fri Oct 25 04:00A HBOF- HBO Family

Sun Oct 27 09:30P HBOF- HBO Family

" Ennis' Gift " will be shown on HBO. For schedule, please visit:

http://www.hbo.com/NASApp/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY

http://www.ld.org/press/ennis_0302.cfm

http://www.hellofriend.org

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