Best and Most Beautiful Things

Premiered January 2, 2017

Directed by

Garrett Zevgetis

Michelle is quirky and charming, legally blind and diagnosed on the autism spectrum, with big dreams and a kinky passion.

Preview

EXPLORE THE FILM

About the Documentary

In rural Maine, a quirky, charming, and determined young woman named Michelle Smith lives with her mother Julie. Legally blind and on the autism spectrum, Michelle has big dreams and proudly wears the badge of outcast. Searching for connection, Michelle explores love and empowerment outside the limits of “normal,” including a provocative sexual awakening. Best and Most Beautiful Things tells Michelle’s joyful story of self-discovery as a celebration of outcasts everywhere.

After receiving an extraordinary education at the Perkins School for the Blind, a world-famous institution outside Boston which was attended by the young Helen Keller, Michelle becomes isolated after graduation, spending hours and days alone in her room, struggling to envision her future. She attends an alumni weekend where a school administrator unexpectedly offers her the possibility of an animation internship in Los Angeles. While Michelle eagerly anticipates this dream opportunity, her family and teachers worry about real-world logistics and Michelle’s readiness to live independently on the other side of the country.

Michelle passes time on the computer, feeding her interests and bold curiosity about the world beyond her walls. Online, she meets and falls in love with a young college student named Michael, and together they become involved in a local fetish role-playing community. Through her relationship with Michael and their adventures with kink and BDSM, Michelle experiences a burgeoning empowerment and finds the acceptance that has eluded her since her time at Perkins. Best and Most Beautiful Things gently reveals how all the most beautiful things, including love and sexuality, are not bound by disability.

The Filmmaker

Garrett Zevgetis is a Boston-based documentary filmmaker focusing on fascinating people and social change. After growing up in Kissimmee, Florida, Garrett served in the U.S. Navy during Desert Storm, and earned an MFA in Media Art from Emerson College. He has directed several short films, including A Mercenary Tale, which premiered at the Boston International Film Festival and was distributed worldwide by Ouat Media. Best and Most Beautiful Things is Zevgetis’s first feature film. He previously worked at WGBH’s FRONTLINE, under acclaimed producer Judith Vecchione, and as a producer for the nationally syndicated public radio program, Radio Open Source with Christopher Lydon. He was recently named one of “10 Filmmakers to Watch” by The Independent magazine.

Full Credits