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Director Ira Wohl took on this personally courageous project that may ultimately help other people who live under the same circumstances as Wohl's aunt, uncle, and their mentally handicapped son Philly. When Wohl started filming this documentary, Philly was entering his fifties, and his parents were not going to live forever. They had always taken care of Philly but Wohl intervenes not only with the eye of his camera, but with his encouragement to get Philly living on his own. The process of his aunt and uncle coming to terms with giving up their only remaining son is enlightening and moving, as are the changes Philly goes through himself. Best Boy received a 1979 Academy Award and a 1980 New York Film Critics Award for "Best Documentary."