Robert Rooy

After working as an assistant director on more than forty Hollywood productions, filmmaker Robert Rooy formed his own production company Rooy Media LLC, which has created more than fifty film and video programs that engage and educate people about important human issues. RooyMedia also provides production services for socially responsible companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Deej is the story of a “smart self’s walk down freedom’s trail.” Abandoned by his birth parents, abused in foster care, and labeled “retarded,” DJ Savarese (“Deej”) found not only a loving family but also a life in words, which he types out on a text-to-voice synthesizer. Advocating for other nonspeaking autistics, he navigates the obstacles to inclusion, the terrors of his past, and his own beautiful yet immobilizing senses. As writer and producer of Deej and current Oberlin College student, he seeks to discover what claiming one’s voice might really mean.