Eye-Opening Documentary Left Behind Follows Mothers’ Journey To Establish First New York City Public School For Dyslexic Children
World Premiere - Woodstock Film Festival October 18
Metropolis Competition Screening DOC NYC November 20 & 21
Directed by Emmy Award Winner Anna Toomey
Produced by Green Hummingbird Entertainment and Velvet Strand
Original Songs by Larry Mullen Jr. and GAYLE
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“Powerful…inspiring Left Behind is an urgent call to action
to help dyslexic kids” - Anderson Cooper
“One of the best truly political documentaries of this or any other year”
-Dominic Patten, Deadline
New York, NY - October 22, 2024 --- The gripping new feature documentary Left Behind, directed by Emmy Award winner Anna Toomey and produced by David Beal, Emmy Award winner Sian Edwards-Beal, Chris Farrell and Larrry Mullen Jr. tells the story of five tenacious mothers determined to establish the first public school in New York City for children with dyslexia. Addressing a learning disability that impacts an estimated 200,000 students in NYC, and roughly 20% of the public at large, the mothers’ struggle to upend the nation’s largest public school system and garner support to open the South Bronx Literacy Academy in September 2023.
The world premiere festival screening of Left Behind was held at the 25th annual Woodstock Film Festival on Friday, October 18 at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY. The screening was followed by a Q&A hosted by one of the film’s executive producers Juju Chang (Emmy Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News Nightline), with one of the film’s producers Larry Mullen, Jr. in attendance. Mullen Jr. collaborated with GAYLE to create an original song for the film, “Between The Lines”. Getty photos from the premiere for download here.
Larry Mullen Jr., whose son is dyslexic, said of the film: “It is a rare occasion when a film as compelling as this finds its way to you. Making the music through the eyes of my dyslexic son felt personal and visceral. I was honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with GAYLE whose lyrics for ‘Between The Lines’ are some of the best I’ve heard in a long time.” GAYLE, who is dyslexic, added: “It was an honor to be asked to make a song for such an important issue and with such an iconic musician. This is a topic that affects my life and I’m so inspired to be a part of this project.”
The feature documentary’s Metropolis Competition screening in NYC is set for November 20 & 21 as part of DOC NYC, with screenings at Village East by Angelika and IFC Center. Tickets and more information here.
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Chris Farrell, Larry Mullen Jr., Anna Toomey, Sian Edwards-Beal and David Beal |
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The Families of Left Behind: Naomi Pena, Freya Sakamoto, Emily Hellstrom, Jeanine Kiely, Ruth Genn, Fatima and Aden Geidi joined by Director Anna Toomey & Producer Sian Edwards-Beal |
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Juju Chang, Chris Farrell, Jeannine Kiely, Larry Mullen Jr., Freya Sakamoto, Anna Toomey, David Beal, David Baron, Emily Hellstrom, Donna Lewis, Ruth Genn, Stephanie Fougere, Dan Fougere (Front Row) Sian Edwards-Beal, Meira Blaustein and Sarah Johnson |
All Photo Credits: Simon Russell/Getty Images
Download more images here (Credit: Simon Russell/Getty Images)
Left Behind reveals the tragic personal and societal ramifications of not addressing dyslexia. The disability has traditionally been ignored in public schools (or perceived as a behavioral problem), since addressing the need for special services becomes a financial burden for the school system, or parents---with costly private schools offering the only available help. The results are shocking: It is estimated that more than 40% of New York’s incarcerated population is dyslexic, creating a school-to-prison pipeline for students who are left without essential skills.
Director Anna Toomey shared “I was shocked by the number of incarcerated individuals who are dyslexic, with this film I wanted to explore how that was possible, what is that pathway to prison. Through our characters in the film, and their journeys, Left Behind exposes the obstacles that a parent has to overcome in order to get help for their child. It is a travesty that so many struggling readers are left behind and not able to reach their full potential. This film is deeply personal to me as our son is dyslexic, and my hope is that by bringing awareness to this issue we can change the lives of millions of kids across the country and the world.”
Left Behind was produced by Green Hummingbird Entertainment’s David Beal and Sian Edwards-Beal and Velvet Strand’s Chris Farrell and Larry Mullen Jr.Executive Producers Juju Chang (ABC Nightline co-anchor), actor Jean Reno and his wife, producer/philanthropist Zofia Moreno, Lisa Domenico Brooke, Sarah E. Johnson, Ellen Lovejoy, Dan and Stephanie Fougere. Screenwriting by Karen K. H. Sim, director of photography James Fideler, composers Olivier Manchon and Clare Manchon, editor Brittany Kaplan and two original songs by Larry Mullen Jr., GAYLE, David Baron and Reed Berin.
Producers Green Hummingbird and Velvet Strand commented: “This is a compelling David vs Goliath story that highlights these incredible women’s fight to address not only what is happening in their backyard but shining a light on the fundamental civil right to an education. Collectively we as producers share a passion for telling stories of individuals striving to do the right thing in service of others.”
Along with the establishment of the South Bronx Literacy Academy, New York City has now committed to opening additional schools focused on struggling readers through the Literacy Academy Collective. It has also begun to provide individual dyslexia testing for students.
In recent years, successful people across a range of professions have come forward to share their personal struggles with dyslexia and inspire others. Among them are Anderson Cooper, Salma Hayek, Steven Spielberg, Gwen Stefani, Tim Tebow, Tom Cruise, Octavia Spencer and more. Many dyslexics cite ‘thinking differently’ as a personal superpower for creativity and thinking outside the box.
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ABOUT LEFT BEHIND
Did you know that 1 out of 5 people have dyslexia? How about that 47-50% of incarcerated people have dyslexia? Left Behind gives eye-opening insight into the ways that the public school system ignores the needs of students with learning disabilities and, in doing so, contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline. No matter how much a person may stand by the power and importance of public schools, there’s just no disputing that the current public education system is not built to help students with learning disabilities to succeed or thrive, and just about every single dyslexia-centered school in the country is privately-owned. Anna Toomey’s gripping documentary chronicles a group of advocates in their struggle to start New York City’s first public school for dyslexia. For more info - www.leftbehindthefilm.com.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Anna Toomey is an independent filmmaker who started her career as an Emmy Award-winning producer for ABC News, Good Morning America, ABC News long-form unit, and Peter Jennings Reporting. She worked on projects including The Gun Fight, an inside look at the NRA, The Century, Beatles Anthology, and the six-part series In the Jury Room. Anna, developed and directed her first feature length independent documentary Left Behind after her son was diagnosed with dyslexia and she discovered the inadequate resources for millions of children across the country. She owns her own production company, Sandy Dog Productions, where she works on independent film projects.
ABOUT GREEN HUMMINGBIRD ENTERTAINMENT
Green Hummingbird Entertainment is a boutique studio based in New York and London with co-heads David Beal (former President of National Geographic Entertainment and Palm Pictures) and Emmy Award winning producer Sian Edwards-Beal. With a global development slate, Green Hummingbird is focused oninspirational, thought-provoking entertainment and telling heroic stories that harness the power of music.
ABOUT VELVET STRAND
Velvet Strand is the production company of Irish musician and actor Larry Mullen Jr. and American producer Chris Farrell. Velvet Strand looks to collaborate with filmmakers to bring surprising or unknown stories to the screen, particularly those which celebrate artists and musicians or those seeking to make a positive impact.
For more information please contact Shore Fire Media