Burt
24 1/2 min / documentary / 2002 / USA
filmmaker: Anthony Di Salvo
Through first person anecdotes which reveal a savant’s amazing memory, we meet Burt, a man with developmental disabilities who survived decades of inhuman treatment to become a person who enjoys life to the fullest.
Burt Petrone was born in New York State in the year 1921. He was born with developmental disabilities.
In the year 2001, at the age of 79, Burt agreed to sit in front of a camera with his wife Barbara and talk about his life. He gives a chronological history of his life and times beginning in 1936 when he was 15 years old. He has an incredible memory for dates and gives many specific dates as he tells his story.
The video is also a love story of how Burt and Barbara met, courted and married and lived together for over 15 years. He is also a talented, self-taught musician and plays a few songs during the video, some of which he composed himself.
Burt is a video that portrays a man who survived decades of inhuman treatment to become a person who enjoys life to the fullest.
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