Film of Norfolk man's life added to Library of Congress

Seven minutes and 44 seconds of the life of Dwight Core Jr. - a Norfolk man with Down syndrome - will be preserved forever in the Library of Congress.

It's a thought that comforts his four sisters as they plan the funeral of their 48-year-old brother, who died Wednesday.

Core was the subject of a documentary called "Think of Me First as a Person," which chronicled the love of his family and the heartache of being sent to a state mental institution in the 1960s.

Core's father, Dwight Core Sr., took home movies of his son during his childhood years, recording the joys and challenges of raising a son with a disability.

The elder Core's grandson, George Ingmire, found the footage in a box decades

later and created a documentary that was praised at film festivals in 2006 as a poignant portrayal of the disabled during an era of mental institutions.

Later that year, the Library of Congress chose the film out of hundreds to be preserved in the National Film Registry. Judges called it a "loving portrait by a father of his son with Down syndrome" that represented "the creativity and craftsmanship of the American amateur filmmaker."

The registry preserves films of cultural, historic and aesthetic significance.

Dwight Core Jr.'s sister, Cindy Kling-ler, said he probably didn't understand what the Library of Congress was, "but he knew it was a big deal. He knew he was a movie star." He visited the gravesite of his parents and told them he was now on DVD.

The film chronicles Dwight Core Jr.'s early years at his Norfolk home growing up with four sisters. His father provides a voice-over imagining the thoughts of the boy they called "D":

"Think of me first as a person who hurts and loves and feels joy. Smile and say hello. Even that is enough."

Early scenes of childhood parties and Christmases cut away to footage in Lynchburg of a training school for mentally disabled people.

Dwight Core Jr. moved there at age 6, because his parents were told that was the best place for him. Schools at the time were not required to have special education.

In the voice-over, the father described his own feelings:

"The guilt feelings, thoughts of D's future welfare, so many emotional decisions seemed to arise. We were there possibly two hours, and as we prepared to leave, we could hear D sobbing. I shall never forget the sight of that little boy, tears streaming down his face."

Dwight Core Jr. later moved back to Hampton Roads when the state began moving disabled people back to their own communities. He lived in a training center in Chesapeake, a group home, an apartment with supportive services, and then moved in with Klingler two years ago.

He died of multiple organ failure Wednesday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after being in intensive care for more than a week.

But his story lives on.

The film "Think of Me First as a Person" will be featured Oct. 12 at the New Orleans Film Festival, along with a video that former Virginian-Pilot photographer Roger Richards made about the film and Dwight.

"He never looked at himself as disabled," Klingler said of her little brother. She asked him once whether he knew anyone with Down syndrome. "No," he said. "Do you?"

Dwight Core Jr.'s funeral will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at Haygood United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com