More Movies Are Featuring Actors with Down Syndrome

Cafe de Flore

Vanessa Paradis and Marin Gerrier in "Cafe de Flore" / IMDB

Two movies out this fall feature young actors with Down syndrome as lead characters. “Cafe de Flore” features Vanessa Paradis as Jaqueline, a single mother whose son, Laurent (Marin Gerrier), has Down syndrome.

“Any Day Now” is the story of gay lovers who try to adopt a boy with Down syndrome, played by Los Angeles actor Isaac Leyva.

Both movies are part of a trend to include people with Down syndrome in the storylines of movies and TV. “Glee” and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (starring Global Down Syndrome Foundation Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award recipient Luke Zimmerman) are long-running examples.

Isaac Leyva

Isaac Leyva / IMDB

Though these new releases revolve around characters with Down syndrome, they are not focused on Down syndrome per se. Both films are about the love of families no matter the form they take.

Check out stories on the movies on Disability Scoop.

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