The new film “Best and Most Beautiful Things” tells the story of Michelle Smith, a young woman who is legally blind and on the autism spectrum. It’s a story about the obstacles Michelle faces because of her disability, but it’s not a story about her disability. Instead, it’s a look at a woman searching for independence and finding it, to a great extent, online.
Michelle graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, but then found herself isolated, with no job, in the tiny Penobscot County town of Bradford. She spent hours on the internet, no major change for someone who’s already heavily into fan culture: Michelle loves anime, cosplays Daria and collects dolls from the Monster High series.
In the film, in something of a surprising turn, she also found a BDSM community and, with her boyfriend, began to explore fetish.
We spoke with the filmmaker, Garrett Zevgetis, about that and about Michelle’s experiences and plans.
Zevgetis: Two years into filming, Michelle was isolated at home like so many people with disabilities when they age out of the system. She didn’t have any friends, and she found this provocative community in Bangor, these people that she said accepted her. I talked to one of my producers, Ariana Garfinkel, and Ariana said, “it sounds like she found community.” And it was like a lightbulb went off. As soon as we knew this was part of her, it was only ethical just to follow that aspect of it.
We were going to end this film when she graduated Perkins. She had overcome so much to get to that point — it would have been a great happy ending. But then I was talking to people at Perkins right after she graduated, and they said, “what’s happening with Michelle? Let me guess, she’s isolated, on her computer in her parents’ bedroom. We call it falling off the cliff, it happens to all our graduates, and so many people with disabilities when they age out of the system.” And I said that’s the story, I have to follow her off that cliff and find out what happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-w8-B1ABeo
What does Michelle want, and what are the obstacles to it?
We didn’t want this to be another story of a person with a disability overcoming big odds, and overcoming the disability. Because it’s not about overcoming the disability, a disability is just — like somebody has red hair, it’s part of them. For Michelle, this is really a story of just going for independence. That’s the story of this film, her reaching for that.
Sometime after Michelle graduated Perkins, there’s an opportunity to go to Los Angeles, and potentially do an internship there with the company that makes the Nickelodeon kids show “Rugrats,” which she loves. But ultimately it doesn’t work out, for a lot of practical reasons having to do with Michelle’s preparedness to live on their own. And although she’s disappointed, she handles it really well.
When she first learns of the opportunity, she puts all her eggs in that basket. Because things are so difficult and there’s such a lack of opportunities. And I think that happens with a lot of young people.
For Michelle it’s not workable. But it empowers her. She could have fallen into despair, but she found empowerment from it.
How is Michelle doing now?
Well, the great thing is she has traveled all around the world with us with this film. She’s gone to South America, Toronto, California, Florida, and she’s really found an incredible voice.
But she’s still looking for a job. She’s back in Bradford. She was living independently for a long time, but because of financial difficulties she’s had to move back in with her family.
Her voice and her attitude and optimism are as strong as ever. But we need opportunities for her, and so many other people with disabilities. And I hope that can remain a focus for us going forward.
For more, click here to read an Independent Lens update on Michelle. This interview edited for content, length and clarity.
