San Diego Asian Film Festival 2008

Hundreds of thousands of families in China are affected by autism. These families often face a desperate situation. With little to no knowledge of the developmental disorder, they do not know how to teach or cope with their children. They are also largely excluded by a society that does not understand or accept them.

CHILDREN OF THE STARS is a very personal documentary on a group of families seeking help for their severely autistic children. Among them is the Wei family. Their five-year-old boy is violent, cannot speak, and does not seem to even recognize his parents. No schools would accept him, causing his family so much shame and despair, they even considered family suicide. But they regained hope, when accepted into a program at a little charity school in Beijing called “Stars and Rain”. Here, they would join other families to learn behavioral techniques that will enable them to teach and manage their son.

A deeply moving journey, CHILDREN OF THE STARS follows the progress of the Wei family over three months, resulting in an extraordinary story of parental love.

Co-presented by:
SD Autism Society