OUR NEW FILM

“Unconditional, Raising a Glass Child with a PACS1 sibling” is the first film we made as a result of our 7,000 Films Wanted initiative. Shortly after our first festival wrapped up in 2017 we put out a call for more rare disease patient’s stories that might make a good film. We got several great ones. We selected the Poague Zellinger family who are facing PACS1 syndrome which affects their five year old son Finn.

GLASS CHILDREN

The phrase glass child refers to a sibling who might be neglected or given less attention because their brother or sister has more intense or dramatic needs. This is not only due to rare disease but that’s a striking example.

WHAT IS PACS1?

PACS1 is a transport protein that mediates the localization and movement of other proteins along the trans-Golgi-network. The gene recognizes and binds to acidic clusters on target proteins to move them.  The PACS1 protein forms abnormally stable cytoplasmic aggregates and impairs binding to allow the proteins to move correctly.

Children with PACS1 Syndrome have a very rare genetic condition caused by mutation of the PACS1 gene (p.Arg203Trp).

Source: http://www.pacs1.info/

More information at http://pacs1smiles.org/

Directed by JON DORFLINGER

Jon had a short documentary in our 2017 festival called “This is Mito”. We already knew he did great work with his films, so after we found a great story with the Poague Zellinger family we asked Jon to direct. We think he nailed it (again).