Gaby: A True Story

Gabriela Brimmer, born in Mexico, has cerebral palsy and can control only her left foot. Her nanny Florencia becomes both carer and translator, reading what the girl writes by touching letters with that foot. Gaby goes to school, enters university, becomes a writer and falls in love. The film is not interested in disability. It is interested in a demand for independence: Gaby wants to make her own decisions rather than be protected, and the conflict with her family is built on that. Sexuality and the wish for motherhood are discussed directly, which was rare in films of the period. The form is classical biography: chronological flow, family scenes, school and the writing desk. Luis Mandoki directed. Gabriela Brimmer was a real person who became a well-known writer on disability rights in Mexico, and she contributed to the screenplay. Rachel Levin plays Gaby. Norma Aleandro was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Florencia; Liv Ullmann and Robert Loggia are also in the cast. Who it is for: viewers who like true stories and narratives about disability. Who it is not for: anyone weighing representation by today's standards. The lead is played by a non-disabled actor and the film falls at times into the inspirational mould.