I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust
Emily Grodin is an autistic woman who spoke minimally for a significant part of her life, until she had a breakthrough and began to express herself in new ways.
Mimi and Dona
A 92-year-old mother, Mimi, who has cared 64 years for Dona, a daughter who has an intellectual disability, faces the inevitable and has to find her daughter a home. This poignant, heartbreaking and, at times, humorous documentary tells the story of a quirky and fiercely devoted mother-daughter duo.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- November 23, 2015
- Length
- 60 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Open Call
Producer/Director
Sophie Sartain
Sophie Sartain is the co-director and producer of Seeing Allred, which premiered at Sundance and is on Netflix. Among Sartain’s credits is her ITVS-funded film Mimi and Dona, named one of the best TV shows of the year by The New York Times. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and New Day Films.
- Other ITVS Films
- Buried Under Years of Dust
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Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS.
The Film
An estimated 4.6 million Americans have an intellectual or developmental disability. These individuals are living longer than ever before. And more than 75% of them live at home with family. What happens when aging family members can no longer care for them? Mimi and Dona explores this issue through the intimate story of a quirky and fiercely devoted mother-daughter duo. Since her husband died in 1968, Mimi Thornton has lived with her daughter Dona in a suburban home in Dallas. Dona has an intellectual disability and probably some undiagnosed autism. Over the years, Mimi and Dona have carved out a happy life for themselves — one filled with errands, church, weekly visits to the beauty parlor, and nightly doses of Wheel of Fortune. However, Mimi and Dona's symbiotic existence is about to end. At age 92, Mimi can no longer care for Dona; and at age 64, Dona is about to take the biggest step of her life — she's leaving home to live in an assisted living facility.
