(2010, 103 mins., dir Mick Jackson) This HBO-produced biopic of Temple Grandin (b. 1947) dramatizes the life of a woman who is one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry. Starring Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, this visually inventive film traces her life as a child, student, and thinker who applies her unique insight with the encouragement of her mother (Julia Ormond), aunt (Catherine O’Hara) and science teacher (David Strathairn). Grandin uses her autism, her ability to think in pictures, and her innate sensitivity to animals, as a distinct advantage. For her role, Danes won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in TV movie. Critic Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times calls the film “funny, instructive and intangibly charming;” Mary MacNamara of the Los Angeles Times calls it “gorgeously unsentimental…[a film with] with all the wild-eyed grace of its main character.” Stay for a post-film discussion about the issues raised in the film.

View the film's trailer here.

Overflow seating for the Planet Indy Talk: Temple Grandin on Visual Thinking and Animal Behavior is still available. Read more about the talk or purchase tickets here.