Vanessa Williams Brings MY BROTHER to Big Screen

FACT: One in every 733 live births or more than 350,000 people in the US have Down Syndrome.

Kids with Down Syndrome tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears, a single crease across the center of the palms, and an enlarged tongue. This makes the genetically designed condition almost instantly recognizable to outsiders. Down Syndrome transcends racial, ethnic and economic lines. It can be challenging to both the family and the individual with DS due to public stigma and prejudice.

What is Down Syndrome?
Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. In most cases of Down syndrome, however, a child gets an extra chromosome - for a total of 47 chromosomes instead of 46. It's this extra genetic material that causes the physical and cognitive delays associated with DS.

Down syndrome affects kids' cognitive abilities in different ways, but most have mild to moderate mental retardation. Kids with DS can and do learn, and are capable of developing skills throughout their lives. They simply reach goals at a different pace - which is why it's important not to compare a child with DS with typically developing siblings or even other children with the condition. Kids with DS have a wide range of abilities, and there's no way to tell at birth what they will be capable of as they grow up.

Thanks to continued, research people living with Down syndrome are more self sufficient and are receiving more opportunities than ever before. Opportunities that include starring roles in the new movie MY BROTHER starring Vanessa Williams and Tatum O'Neal. My Brother opens this Friday, March 16th and is "an inner city, New York, story, of two impoverished boys, one of whom is developmentally disabled, and the bond of love they have for each other. This bond, forged in their youth by their mother, and made under life's most desperate circumstances, is unwavering even in the face of adversity. In the present, one brother, trying to get free of oppressing debt, falls prey to ruthless men, setting into motion life-threatening events that test their greater-than-blood bond. This leads to a decision that only an epiphany, and courage, can overcome. "

According to audiences that have already screened the movie, it is "emotional," speaks of "family values" and made them "cry out loud." In the film festival circuit including the American Black Film Festival sponsored by Walmart, it has already received best picture and actress awards.

The producers and promoters of MY BROTHER say that the Hollywood Machine has predicted low numbers for the movie because they do not believe there is an audience for it.

My personal opinion is that the human condition and experience is extremely vast and there are armies of people that want to see their stories told. Film and the various genre of entertainment should be a way of teaching / learning through a shared medium. Considering the outcome of recent box office sleepers like Tyler Perry's Medea, we the PEOPLE may have to predict the outcome of this one as well.

So, pass the word along ....My Brother, is coming to a theatre near you.

VIEW TRAILER HERE