More Beautiful For Having Been Broken

A semi-autobiographical film, “Beautiful For Having Been Broken” is very personal to Conn.The film pays homage to Conn’s daughter and in particular her son, Nicholas, who has special needs and is medically fragile. In fact, he was the focus of her 2005 film little man which earned Conn 12 Best Documentary Awards along with the prestigious Cedar Sinai’s Courageous Beginnings Award. 

Conn’s journey with her son has been the most intensely spiritual and greatest life education she could ever have asked for; and with this film she wants to show the beauty that comes from the broken.  In fact, It was her producer, Lissa Forehan, who told her about the Japanese term Kintsukuroi which means “more beautiful for having been broken” and inspired the title of the film.

Having had a seriously challenging 2015 with her son almost not making it out of the hospital twice and losing her sister completely broke Conn. And it wasn’t until she began to heal that she saw beauty in the smallest things.  Nicholas’s relentless medical needs made her understand the preciousness of being in the “now”.

I believe inclusion means ALL OF US. That’s why it was so imperative to cast an actor with Special Needs. I watch people all the time pretend like we’re not in the frame. Watch the averted eyes and just the ease with which they make our kids invisible. Our kids need to be seen. Heard. Laughed with and Learned from! And Loved. Trust me, the love you get back is beyond what you could ever dream. And this world needs a whole lot of that kind of love to deal with the tragedy our nation is immersed in today

says Conn

Power house producer Lissa Forehan and a group known as the “Silver Tribe” – eleven women from all over the world who are Conn’s dear friends and loyalists, are teaming up with the multiple award-winning filmmaker behind the scenes to bring this film to the international audience that it deserves.Held from October 17 through the 20th, La Femme International Film Festival is a premiere film festival celebrating, supporting and advancing content creation by Women Producers, Writers, and Directors from around the world. The hosted film festival has advanced the careers of over 1,000 artists and continue to offer educational seminars, programming and networking events in a nurturing indie environment (https://www.lafemme.org/)

A pioneering filmmaker, Nicole Conn is known not only for having paved the way for lesbian themed cinema with her cult classic, “Claire of the Moon”, but also for her acclaimed features Elena Undone (which boasts the longest screen kiss in cinema history) and A Perfect Ending, among others.