The Key of G is being applauded by disability advocates for striking the right chord when it comes to offering alternatives to typical models of institutionalized care. This award-winning feature documentary depicts Gannet, a charismatic 22-year-old with disabilities, leaving his mother’s home to enter into an unusual but uniquely successful living arrangement.
Gannet shares a San Francisco apartment with a group of artists and musicians who support him both as paid caregivers—but, more importantly, as friends. The documentary has been lauded as “smart, poignant, (and) candid…a really extraordinary film.”
Gannet, or “G” as his friends call him, was born with Mowat-Wilson syndrome, a genetic condition that exhibits symptoms similar to autism. G seldom makes eye contact and is unable to speak or use sign language. He only communicates by pointing at icons in his “communication book.” Key of G follows the events in a household for several years that prove, through difficulties, relationships aren’t diminished but deepened.
The film shows a severely disabled person integrated into a caring community and living a full and rewarding life. It also challenges conventional notions about independence and empathy, and, along the way, provides new insight into what the meaning of “caregiver” truly encompasses.
Although the film debuted on October 5, 2007, on PBS stations throughout the country, it’s being shown on local channels throughout the year. To see a video clip of The Key of G, go to www.pbs.org/thekeyofg; to learn more about the creation of the film, go to the producer’s Web site at www.lateralfilms.com/keyofg.
