The Eight Day (Le Huitieme Jour)

Thursday, October 21, 2004 – 7:30 pm
France/Belgium/UK 1996. Director: Jaco Van Dormael
Post-screening discussion with Dr. Robin Friedlander
Co-sponsored by the BC Association for Mental Health in Developmental Disability, Down Syndrome Research Foundation, & Lower Mainland Down Syndrome Society.

The plot of ‘The Eighth Day’ is sentimental, straight forward and perhaps a little well worn. Georges – an unsophisticated and happy character (played by Pascal Duquenne) teaches Harry, a complex and unhappy character (played by Daniel Auteuil) how to embrace simplicity and freedom. However the film transcends its conventional story line on two levels. Pascal Duquenne is a professional actor in Belgium who just happens to have Down’s Syndrome.