MOUNT DORA, Fla. – The famous “Starry Night” house in Mount Dora often catches people’s eye, but now will be capturing the lenses of film crews.
The home painted like Van Gogh’s famous art piece is going to be featured in a new documentary.
The home made headlines back in 2018 as the homeowners fought with city officials to keep it painted.
“My son has autism, and he has a tendency to wander, and his language is impaired, so I wanted him to be able to say where he was supposed to go,” said Nancy Nemhauser, the home’s owner.
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Nemhauser first started painting the property in 2017 after her son’s favorite artist, but quickly got a citation from the city.
“They said it’s graffiti and it’s causing problems with traffic,” she said.
The fight that followed made national headlines.
Mount Dora leaders claimed the painting was a driving safety hazard and tried fining Nemhauser thousands of dollars until she repainted it.
That legal battle ended in a settlement, with Nemhauser winning. The city apologized and paid her $15,000.
“We did an excellent thing for our son, for kids with autism, and I think for the community. It’s brought in many people. We’ve had people come in from as far as Iran,” she said.
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Now, it’s brought in documentarian Lionel Montells.
“Every element of this story is so unique that it created the perfect storm and I think that is really cool and that’s why I think people still to this day come here,” he told News 6.
Montells’ film crews will start shooting next week for the documentary he’s calling “Starry Fight.”
He said he hopes one of the streaming companies will pick up this fall.
“I want this house to go beyond that fight and to symbolize autism or at least raise awareness for autism which is really needed, and art. Art was used here for something good,” he said.
As for Nemhauser, she said her son loves the attention the house gets.
“I think it’s fabulous, I think it’s wonderous that people can see it, experience it and go through the transition with us,” she said about the documentary.
Learn more at the documentary’s website.
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