The Elon alumna will receive the award on Thursday, Nov. 7, and screen her feature-length documentary, “The Limits of My World.”
On Thursday, Nov. 7, elondocs will recognize alumna Heather Cassano ‘13 with the organization’s Emerging Documentarian Award at 6 p.m. in Turner Theatre and screen her film, “The Limits of My World.”
Cassano directed, produced, filmed and edited the feature-length documentary, which chronicles a nonverbal young man’s transition from the school system into adulthood.
“The Limits of My World” is an autistic coming of age story, exploring what it means to be a nonverbal disabled person in a neurotypical society. Cassano filmed the documentary from an intimate perspective, as she is the older sister of her documentary subject. The film has gone on to screen at numerous festivals across the United States and internationally, winning three Best Documentary awards and a Jury Prize.
After the screening, Cassano will receive the Emerging Documentarian Award; she is the third recipient of the award, joining alumni Dan Koehler ‘12 and Erin Barnett ‘09.
Nicole Triche, associate professor in the School of Communications and elondocs faculty director, said she looks forward to having Cassano speak with students.
“We have alumni that come back and we want them to be able to share their knowledge with students. I mean, she was a student not that long ago,” Triche said.
Cassano is a documentary filmmaker living and working in the Greater Boston area. When she’s not making films, she teaches documentary production at Emerson College and programs the short films for Salem Film Fest. She is also an active member of the Non-Fiction Cartel.
Following the screening, Cassano will lead a brief Q&A session. She will also attend School of Communications classes and meet with the elondocs program while on campus.