BOSTON — An inspirational documentary featuring a successful local businesswoman who has Down syndrome won a Student Academy Award last week and is now eligible for the Oscars in March.
“The 17 Percent,” directed by Aaron Johnson, 22, shadows 34-year-old Collette Divitto, owner of Collettey’s Cookies, sold in more than 1,000 stores nationwide and recently landing a Walmart deal.
The statistic in the title represents only 17 percent of people with neurological disabilities who get hired in the workforce.
Having struggled to find a job before opening her own company, Divitto, who has loved baking since she was a child, now employs others with disabilities, helping them attain the independence she has achieved.
“Helping people with a disability, I love doing very much,” Divitto said. “That’s the number one thing I love doing.”
Johnson directed the film as his capstone project at Chapman University in California, collaborating with cinematographer Chris …