The Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University will sponsor a screening of “Dolphin Boy,” the award-winning documentary by Israeli director, screenwriter and producer Dani Menkin, at the 2011 Syracuse International Film Festival. “Dolphin Boy” will be shown 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the Palace Theater in Syracuse. Menkin will be present for the film screening and the Q-and-A session following the film.

“Dolphin Boy” was recently nominated for best documentary at the Ophir Awards, also known as the Israeli Academy Awards. The film features an Arab teenager recovering from physical and mental trauma after a violent beating from a group of youths. It is only after being sent for treatment with dolphins at an aquatic center that he begins to heal.

“Menkin’s thought-provoking work piqued our interest because it brings attention worldwide to the challenges facing people with diverse disabilities,” says University Professor Peter Blanck, BBI chairman. “The Burton Blatt Institute is delighted to bring this inspirational story to the Central New York community.”

Menkin previously won an Academy Award in Israel for his documentary “39 Pounds of Love.” This story about an animator who uses a wheelchair was screened in 2005 at the United Nations Disabilities Conference. Menkin is currently a visiting artist in the Department of Transmedia at SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA). His visit to Syracuse is sponsored in part by VPA, the School of Education and  The Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. Menkin has chosen Syracuse as the location for his next film.

More information about the event, held in collaboration with the SU Humanities Center and Le Moyne College, can be found at http://www.syrfilm.com. Tickets for the screening of “Dolphin Boy” will be on sale at the theater door ($7 adults/$6 seniors and students/$5 for AARP members), or they can be reserved by calling (315) 443-8826.

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