"The Story of Luke" opens on Friday, April 5th!

Dear Friends,   

My passion project "The Story of Luke", starring Lou Taylor Pucci, Seth Green, Cary Elwes and Kristin Bauer, will be released theatrically on April 5th in over 18 cities in the US and Canada as well as on iTunes and major Cable On-Demand platforms. I need your help to get the word out!

Since "The Story of Luke" had its World Premier at the San Diego Film Festival in September (winning Best Film), it has gone on to participate in over 20 film festivals and win another 4 Best Film Awards and 5 Audience Awards. We also received the support of Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, and in January we were picked up for distribution by Gravitas Ventures.

This is where you come in.

Being an indie film, we don't have the marketing budget of the big studios so anything you can do to help us get the word out helps. Here are some easy things:

• If you haven't seen our trailer yet, see it! http://youtu.be/iCeUaacpu9I
• Join our community on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thestoryofluke/
• If you are in one of our theatrical release cities, please go see it! The full list is here: http://www.thestoryofluke.com/upcoming-screenings/ Bring some friends for extra fun! We have set up easy-peasy Facebook Events for your sharing pleasure: http://www.facebook.com/thestoryofluke/events
• If our film isn't playing in your city or you can't make it to a screening, rent it on iTunes or Cable On-Demand on our opening weekend & invite your friends to do the same! http://www.facebook.com/events/120128724843516/

"The Story of Luke" has been a labor of love for myself and a group of equally stubborn individuals and I couldn't be prouder of the end result. I can't wait for you to see it!

Sincerely,

Alonso Mayo - Writer/Director "The Story of Luke"

http://www.thestoryofluke.com

The Congress of the Republic honors Doctors Liliana Mayo and Rosa Oyama of the CASP with the medal of “Honor of Merit for Social Work”

Dr. Liliana Mayo, founder and general director of the Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú (CASP), and Rosa Oyama, Director of Research and Projects of the center, were honored with the medal of “Honor of Merit for Social Work” by the Congress of the Republic and the Peruvian Association of Women Entrepreneurs (ASPEME in Spanish) in honor of their distinguished professional work, with more than 30 years dedicated to education and inclusion of people with different abilities and their families.

The distinction was awarded at the Seventh Conference of “Women Weaving Prosperity in Peru” (Mujeres Tejiendo Prosperidad en el Perú), on March 7 in the Raúl Porras Barrenechea Chamber of the Legislative Palace in celebration of International Women’s Day.

Dr. Marco Falconí Picardo, first vice president of Congress, was in charge of bestowing the award to Dr. Orestes Mayo, who represented Dr. Liliana Mayo, and Dr. Rosa Oyama. Also present were Julia Reymer Rodríguez, President of ASPEME, and representatives from the Legislative Power and private sector.

The medal of “Honor of Merit for Social Work” recognizes women of great personal and professional development who apply values such as commitment, persistence, leadership, a fighting spirit, personal development and an exemplary life for society.

The Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú currently helps more than 450 students, a hundred of which are employed and another hundred who attend regular schools. The center is recognized worldwide for its contribution as a model center for training, demonstration and research for people with different abilities (autism, mental retardation, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy) and their families. Furthermore, it is important to note that the Government of Panama has adopted the Peruvian model to fund the Ann Sullivan Center of Panama (CASPAN) and that more than 15 Latin American countries benefit from the Internet Training System that CASP has had since 2008 in order to make a difference in the lives of people with different abilities and their families.

Completely free invitation to check out Digital Library

Dear friends,

Receive warm greetings from the Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru family. We would like to inform you that the Digital Library is a joint effort of the University of Iowa´s WiderNet Project, of the United States Agency for international development (USAID) and of the United States International Council on disabilities (USICD). Their objective is to provide information to local organizations in developing countries seeking to promote the rights of people with different abilities through the eGranary system (known as “the Internet in a box”) by offering hundreds of thousands of digital educational resources to institutions that do not have Internet access. If you want to know a little more about this digital library you can click on http://www.widernet.org/egranary/gdrl

At present there is a Spanish-language portal that is on line, which you can visit at http://www.widernet.org/portals/index.php?PortalID=95, and to find information about the rights of people with disabilities, assistive technology or human rights.

We invite you to enter these web pages and give us their opinions about these portals to improve this system. Comments or suggestions may be sent on the Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru via the following e-mails : traduccion@annsullivanperu.org and/or juliocht@gmail.com.

Thank you very much for your support.

Alonso Mayo´s “The Story of Luke” swept with the Irvine International Film Festival Awards at Los Angeles, California

The movie “The Story of Luke” of Peruvian director Alonso Mayo, about the life of a young person with autism, after been protected all his life, embarks himself in the quest of finding a job and the love in his life, swept with the most important awards in the Irvine International Film Festival.

Alonso Mayo´s opera prima prevailed on four categories: Best Film, Best Trailer, Best Actor (Lou Taylor Pucci) and For Best Director( Alonso Mayo), in the ceremony that took place Sunday the 21^th of January, at Orange County (California), USA.

“The Story of Luke” has been produced by Nina Leidersdorff and its leading role is played by Lou Taylor Pucci as Luke, and is accompanied by an excellent cast of actors as Seth Green, Cary Elwes and Kristin Bauer, among others.

Alonso Mayo´s film has received up to the moment several awards in international film competitions during 2012, including Best Film at the San Diego Film Festival, and two special awards for Best Film chosen by the public in the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival and the  Bahamas Film Festival. Actually, “The Story of Luke” has a screening schedule within  different Film Festivals throughout the United States and Canada.

Página oficial: http://thestoryofluke.com/
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1038693/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thestoryofluke
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thestoryofluke

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2013

We extend a special greeting to each one of you, and wish you Merry Christmas and a successful Year 2013 on behalf of our students, their families and our team.

¡Thank you so much for all your support!

Autism Speaks met with the First Lady of Peru and organizations promoting respect for the rights of people with autism

The government of Peru gave a big step when the First Lady of Peru Nadine Heredia and the vice ministers of Health, Education and Women met with the representatives of the world’s most important organization in autism “Autism Speaks” Dr. Andy Shih and Mr. Michael Rosanoff in order to talk about challenges and opportunities for collaboration in view of the issues facing people with autism in Peru.  

During this meeting Dr Shih explained the Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) Initiative, whose mission is to increase autism awareness and recognition, service delivery, and research collaboration around the world. They were impressed by the interest shown by the First Lady of Perú and the authorities of the government to make future projects of collaboration with the objective to serve the children with autism in Peru.

They also met in the Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú-CASP, with 13 organizations such as AFPAC PERÚ, Alcanzando, Asociación Siempre Amanecer, ASPAU PERÚ, ASPAUC - Cañete, Autismo Perú, Avanzar, Centro Ann Sullivan del Perú, EITA, Olimpiadas Especiales, ONG Growing Happy, Soy autista, y que? and Recrearte that support quality education and promote the inclusion of people of the autism spectrum disorder in Peru.  This meeting allowed all of these institutions to share their successes, challenges and top priorities with the representatives of Autism Speaks.

It was an historic visit of Autism Speaks for families who have children with autism and professionals because Autism Speaks sent a clear message of hope that this international organization will help in the development of priorities the government decides are the most important for people with autism in our country.

"The Story of Luke" directed by the Peruvian Alonso Mayo, won the award for best film at the 2012 San Diego Film Festival

The first film of Alonso Mayo was chosen as the best movie at the San Diego Film Festival, in the United States.

"The Story of Luke" was shot in Ontario, Canada, in 2011 and tells the story of a young man with autism that has lived a sheltered life, and that he is about to embark on a quest for a job and a girlfriend.

The film stars are: Lou Taylor Pucci, (a young actor who plays Luke), Seth Green, Cary Elwes, Kristin Bauer, among other actors.

"The Story of Luke" will participate in several festivals this year. So, On October 6^th, it will make its premiere at the Edmonton International Film Festival (Canada); on October 14^th, at the New Orleans Film Festival (USA.); on October 19^th, at the Tallgrass Film Festival (USA.); on October 20^th, at the Film Festival (USA.) and at the Heartland Film Festival (USA.); and on November 4^th, at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (USA).