Hélène Nicolas is a young woman with severe autism who lives with her parents in rural France. For the first two decades of her life, it appeared as though she would never speak or communicate in any way. But then her mother, Veronique, discovered that Hélène could indeed interact by shifting laminated plastic letters on a board, not only helping her mother understand her needs and desires, but spelling out witty observations of life and eventually beautiful poetry. Hélène became so proficient that Veronique began collecting her work and publishing it in books under the nom de plume Babouillec Sp (“sans-parole”, or “non-verbal”).
Inspired by the work, her parents took her lastest book, Eponymous Algorhythm, and adapted it for the stage. Director Julie Bertuccelli captures one of the most astounding and inspiring writers to emerge from France.
”As a free storyteller the cosmos nourishes my voyages." — Babouillec Sp
Director’s Biography
Julie Bertuccelli: Julie Bertuccelli was born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1968, and studied philosophy before being trained as a documentary filmmaker at the Ateliers Varan in Paris. Her first feature, Since Otar Left, won the Grand Jury Prize of the Critic's week at Cannes in 2003. The Tree screened at MSPIFF 2010.
Sponsored by: