Autism Film Club started by Ambitious About Autism
04 April 2012
To celebrate World Autism Awareness Month in April, Ambitious about Autism is bringing some of the best and most recent films about autism straight to your computer screen. Called ‘Autism Film Club’, the programme will feature four online film screenings on our website during April 2012.
How to register
All four Autism Film Club titles can be streamed for a 24 hour period at no charge; all you need is to register here and then an Autism Film Club password and the links to the films which can be gained by registering for the emails. The password will be sent to you by email and is valid for all four Autism Film Club films.
The films
The Autism Puzzle
UK / 2003 / colour / not rated / 60 mins
Streaming on our website on Wednesday 4 April 2012
Directed by Saskia Baron in 2003, this classic BBC documentary looks at the history of autism and the then current research into the causes, treatment and prevalence of the condition.
The first film in our Autism Film Club series features interviews with Saskia’s father, Michael Baron (co-founder of The National Autistic Society) and some of the world’s leading experts on autism including
Dr. Lorna Wing, Professors Tony Bailey, Fred Volkmar, Christopher Gilberg and Ami Klin.
Neurotypical
USA / 2011 / colour / not rated / 91 mins
Streaming on our website on Wednesday 11 April 2012
Neurotypical is a film about autism from the perspective of autistics, which parallels the lives of three individuals on the autism spectrum, each facing pivotal stages of growth.
Violet, three years old, is absorbing the sensory world and learning ways to navigate through it; Nicholas, a teenager, is coming to terms with his diagnosis and his identity; and Paula, newly diagnosed, balances her autism advocacy work with the demands of homeschooling her son and sorting out a disintegrating marriage.
Animating Autism
USA / 2011 / colour / not rated / 63 mins
Streaming on our website on Wednesday 18 April 2012
Animating Autism is a feature length documentary on autism that follows seven individuals on the spectrum as they collaborate to create a short animated film. The documentary follows them as they learn how to turn their sketches into movies and form lasting friendships.
The innovations of the digital age are making it possible for more and more people, including those with autism, to express themselves in creative and meaningful ways. Animating Autism highlights how this is possible and why it is necessary to better understand and integrate those with autism into society.
Loving Lampposts
USA / 2011 / colour / not rated / 84 mins
Streaming on our website on Wednesday 25 April 2012
What would you call a four year old who caresses all the lampposts in the park – Quirky, Unusual or sick? Such labels are at the centre of the debate about autism: is it a disease or a different way of being—or both?
In Loving Lampposts, we witness this debate and meet the parents, doctors, therapists, and autistic people who are redefining autism at a moment when it's better known than ever before. Motivated by his son's diagnosis, filmmaker Todd Drezner explores the changing world of autism and learns the truth of the saying, "if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person."