Advanced Search

Search Stories

Go

Subjects A to Z

Advanced Search

Art, Politics and Media

You don't have to look to Hollywood for powerful films that inspire and provoke. This is standard fare from David E. Simpson, Chicago's documentary dynamo.

Chicago filmmaker David E. Simpson has been making films since he was 13, when he received a camera as a present. After experimenting with different kinds of storytelling, documentary filmmaking captivated him.

Whether directing movies about disability rights in "When Billy Broke His Head" or working behind the scenes as an editor for "Forgiving Dr. Mengele," Simpson isn't shy about broaching difficult topics. Working with Kartemquin Films – the famed Chicago company that produced 1994's acclaimed " Hoop Dreams" – Simpson made "Refrigerator Mothers," a movie that looks at the period between the 1950s and 1970s when the medical community thought autism was the result of poor parenting.

In his movie, Simpson visits with some of the women who not only had to deal with the difficulties of raising autistic children but also suffered the stigma of being labeled as emotionally cold "refrigerator mothers."

Related Links

Find out more about Simpson's documentary "Refrigerator Mothers" at PBS's documentary showcase, P.O.V.

Explore video/image gallery

Related Video

Click to view video

 View Video Clip

Learn more about prolific Chicago filmmaker, David E. Simpson.

 

Related Podcasts

Film Podcast

 

Related Images

Click to view image

view image View Larger Image

The filmmaker.

Click to view image

view image View Larger Image

Billy Golfus, the subject of Simpson's "When Billy Broke His head," a documentary that recounts Golfus' experiences dealing with brain damage after a motorcycle accident.

Click to view image

view image View Larger Image

In Simpson's recent work, Milking the Rhino, he looks at African communities that are at the vanguard of community-based conservation.

 

Thanks To Our Sponsors
Contact Us Site Map Pressroom WTTW Digital Archives Production Services Corporate Sponsorship PBS 98.7WFMT

Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

©2016 WWCI

WTTW Arts - View Story ImageWTTW Arts - Select Your BandwidthWTTW Arts - View Story ExcerptWTTW Arts - Listen to Audio ClipAdvanced SearchStory DetailContact UsSite MapPressroomWTTW Digital ArchivesProduction ServicesCorporate SponsorshipHomeSchedulesProgramsWTTW KidsWTTW ArtsWTTW EventsSupport WTTWAbout UsMembers OnlyGeoffrey Baer Tours - Seven Wonders of ChicagoArchitect Robert A.M. Stern: Presence of the PastArchitect Michael Graves: A Grand TourArchitect Thomas Beeby10 Buildings that Changed AmericaCatholicismProhibitionAmerican Graduate