Don’t Forget Me is a 28-minute documentary about three Moroccan families and their experiences raising autistic children in the North African kingdom. The story was directed by Rajae Bouardi, a filmmaker from the capital city Rabat and produced by Jackie Spinner, a journalist who spent 3 months reporting for the Washington Post from Morocco. The film was inspired by Spinner’s real-life role as a mother, raising two autistic Moroccan born sons. The subject of autism is still misunderstood in the kingdom and autistic children do not have a place in Morocco’s education system. The three short stories bring autism to light and hope to inspire reforms.
New Documentary, Don’t Forget Me, Presents Struggle of Autism in Morocco.
Don’t Forget Me premiered on November 17th, 2017 at the Rabat International Film Festival. Since then it has been awarded the Mike Covell Award at the Big Muddy Film Festival, an award for films showcasing the passion and original perspective. Recently, the film presented to American audiences for the first time on March 9th, 2019 at the Film Row Cinema in Chicago, Illinois, where Spinner lives with her two sons.