Developmentally disabled resident's documentary to be screened in April
The film is the second that Portnoy has submitted to the festival, which requires works to be by, for or about people with disabilities. A committee, comprising directors, artists, filmmakers, people with disabilities and parents of disabled children, determines which films are accepted.
Portnoy, who has Down Syndrome, has always loved theater, music and the computer. So it was perhaps inevitable that she would find a passion in filmmaking, which draws on her strongest interests. According to her high school teacher, Penny Ellis, who has taught her for 16 years, Portnoy started producing her own plays in middle school, wearing multiple hats from director and performer to playbill and set designer. She also has no qualms about assigning jobs to classmates and even staff.
"She knows exactly what she wants to get done," said Ellis. "What's interesting is how she knows the strengths of her peers and chooses roles for them accordingly."
In high school Portnoy became acquainted with some of the students in Thespians, a theater club, and soon after she was asking to book the auditorium and putting classroom aides in charge of costumes and scenery.
Being creative and resourceful are among her strengths. For one production, she had learned that a friend's father worked in copier sales and asked for empty boxes, and then rounded up helpers to turn the empty boxes into a castle for the set.
Through her involvement in another club, DECA, Portnoy learned about making presentations using PowerPoint software. She already knew how to use a computer and a camera, thanks to her father. Her speech therapist, Cheryl Ernst, helped her learn PowerPoint, and Portnoy went on to create dozens of presentations, helping her typically developing peers learn the program along the way.
"She would do a PowerPoint for anything and everything," said Ellis. "She ran around with a camera all the time and pulled pictures from my Internet picture account to use in her presentations."
Having mastered PowerPoint, Portnoy became interested in movie making, and Suzanne Dwyer, a library-media specialist at Oceanside High School, helped her edit her first film. But, as her mother, Rhonda Portnoy, noted, her daughter has never been content to sit by and watch; she wanted to learn how to do it herself.
"She has such a deep need and desire to learn," said her mother. "She just loves it."
Dwyer once again helped Portnoy with her second film, but Portnoy did most of the editing herself. Dwyer did come through in the 11th hour, though, when Portnoy needed to make some tricky final edits requested by the film festival acceptance committee. Dwyer invited Portnoy to her home, where Dwyer was on bed rest awaiting the birth of her second child, to make the necessary revisions.
Portnoy's film is titled My Senior Year: It's Only Just Begun. "It's my senior year and I'm graduating," she said, explaining what inspired her film. "I got all my friends into it."
"Jessica uses her camera to provide a window onto her world," said Ilene Brandon, assistant superintendent for special education and pupil services. "She shows us that people with disabilities live full, rich lives and have many wonderful opportunities."
The call from the Sprout Festival came as the 21-year-old was enjoying a birthday lunch at a restaurant. Ellis was at school when the call came and immediately tried to reach Portnoy on her cell phone.
"It was so noisy in the restaurant that I didn't hear my cell phone, so then Mrs. Ellis tried to call my mother, but she didn't hear her cell phone either," said Portnoy.
Frantic to share the exciting news, Ellis tried each of Portnoy's friends and their parents until, finally, one girl's mother answered her phone and then passed it to Mrs. Portnoy, who then shared the news with her daughter who was thrilled.
Her family is equally thrilled with her achievement. While she initially learned computer skills from her dad, "Jessica has gone way beyond what her father taught her," said Mrs. Portnoy, who added that Jessica's brother, Danny, 19, and her sister, Carly, 14, are impressed that her film made the cut.
The 21-year-old's other pursuits have included a stint as manager of the girls' soccer team and internships in various local businesses, including South Nassau Communities Hospital; FYE Music, a retail music and movie store; Hollywood Video; Rave Girl, a clothing boutique; and the Stop N Shop grocery store. She also volunteers to read to children in schools and camps.
She loves going to the theater and enjoys show tunes and an eclectic mix of contemporary and vintage pop music. She also likes to sing and dance, download music and learn new computer skills.
Her enthusiasm for all of the activities she enjoys is infectious, but it is moviemaking that she is most passionate about. "I'm thinking about what I want to do for my next movie," she said.
"She is an inspiration to all of us," said her mother.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
