Filmmaker Nick August-Perna spoke with MovieWeb’s Matt Mahler about the years he spent developing and filming his new documentary, Tell Them You Love Me, which is produced by Louis Theroux and premiered on Sky but has become a runaway success on Netflix.
Tell Them You Love Me explores the story of Anna Stubblefield, an esteemed Rutgers university professor who becomes embroiled in a controversial affair with Derrick Johnson, a non verbal man with cerebral palsy. Anna says she unlocked Derrick’s mind from his body by teaching him to communicate using a keyboard.
The relationship that followed would lead to a high-profile criminal trial that would challenge our perceptions of disability and the nature of consent. Through exclusive footage and interviews with those on both sides of the case, this feature documentary weaves a riveting and endlessly nuanced story about communication, race, and sex.
