Can't believe that's been 2 years since our (award winning) little film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival so felt it was only right to     re-share it for those who hadn't yet seen it (and if not why not?) or wanted to watch it again,  suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm still most proud of.           And don't forget that you can actually listen to a version of it on the Radio 4 series Short Cuts  too.       A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses fo...

  Couldn't let the actual Autism Awareness Day pass without sharing probably  THE project I am most proud of being involved with, our (award winning) wee film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF. Shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, the original footage captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. If you've never seen it watch it now, if you've seen it before feel free to watch again! And if you want to know more (or even listen to the Radio 4 adaptation) jus...

Can't believe that's a year since our wee film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF was made available online. Shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, the original footage captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. If you've never seen it watch it now, if you've seen it before feel free to watch again! And if you want to know more just click on the AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF label.  

Can't believe that's been a year since our (award winning) little film AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF had its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival so felt it was only right to reshare it for those who hadn't seen it (or wanted to watch it again),  suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm most proud of.           And don't forget that you can actually listen to a version of it on the Radio 4 series Short Cuts  too.       A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of vie...

So excited to finally be able to share our (award winning) little movie AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF with everyone.   A film shot in 1957 in at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures the movements and behaviour of children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, bringing new insightful interpretations of the children’s behaviour as they explore the sparse environment of the clinic. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view. As the film evolves, it takes on the rhythms and repetitions of the children’s activities, becoming a playful homage to the body language of autism. OFFICIAL SELECTION: London Short Film Festival 2025 Edinburgh Film Festival 2024 Hot Docs Documentary Festival (Winner of Best International Short Film Festival) 2024 Krakow Film Festival 2024    

 A couple of new reviews for our short film:  

Well it's been a packed year here at Autastic Towers so thought I'd do a quick overview of the highs and lows of 2024 with a special mention to those who deserve extra credit. Warning tho' there'll probably be some time jumps (a bit like Doctor Who when it was good) as some of the stuff is either ongoing or linked plus expect heady amounts of swearing. And slight sarcasm. Enjoy.     Bizarrely looking back I spent most of January coping with my (stress based) psoriasis hitting my ears again and going very deaf with sensory nightmares and throbbing headaches ahoy...imagine being drunk without the fun bits. In a lovely bit of symmetry I'm sitting typing this in exactly the same situation, albeit now with the pesky psoriasis now also covering my legs and back. Joy. Also in January  we had yet another new social worker assigned to the Cassman seeing as he was almost 18 and they've left it so long he was moved over to adult services - which means we need to start t...

 Just came across this lovely review on IMDB and wanted to share:

    Not long after seeing the first cut of AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF I started on a series of illustrations for myself basically to help me process the whole project (I'm a visuals kinda guy what can I say?). Recently I've had a chance to revisit/rejig/re-imagine them for the 17th edition of Archivio Aperto (this years theme is The Art of Memory) taking place from October 24 to 27, 2024 in Bologna, Italy.  

 It's nice to share some good news for a change so here's an update on our little documentary that seems to be going quite big at the moment. Autism Plays Itself is screening (in competition) at the Folkstone Documentary Festival on Saturday 19th October and at Archivio Aperto Bologna Italy on 24-27 October, again in competition. There are other (very exciting) developments - hopefully - happening but I can't say much more except watch this space. What an actual great end to a fairly mad week!  

 Review from Nuala McCann re: the BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts adaptation of Autism Plays Itself. Click here to read. And from The Financial Times:    

Well that's me back home and (mostly) recovered from the UK premiere of AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF at the Edinburgh Film Festival yesterday and what a day it was.     Yes it was great to finally meet my fellow contributors in the flesh (and yes, they were very lovely) and catch up with the director Janet Harbord after what seems like an age but more importantly (and scarily) it was brilliant - and daunting - to watch the film with an actual audience. Obviously I made merch. And I'm happy to say it seemed to go down fantastically, the audience members I spoke to appeared to just 'get it'....much chat, laughs and excited social interaction ensued.   Team Autism Assemble!   To be honest I'm still processing the whole thing here so no doubt I'll come back to it at some point when I've fully recovered but suffice to say it would be an understatement to say that this is one of the pieces of work I'm most proud of. I hope you can all see it at some point.   But whilst...

A brand new podcast where AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF director Janet Harbord discusses the film.  And you can listen here .

  Just a quick reminder that AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF has its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival on 19th of August at 12:15 as part of the Out of Competition Shorts Programme.   And to remind you that as a special treat myself and the rest of the the team will be doing a Q and A session post screening.    And quite possibly be skulking about in the bar if you want to buy me/us a drink.        And you can watch the trailer here:           Film summary:    A film shot in 1957 at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, offering new and insightful interpretations of the children’s actions. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view.

Really proud - and fairly excited - to (finally) announce that AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF will have its UK premiere at this years Edinburgh Film Festival on 19th of August at 12:15 as part of the Out of Competition Shorts Programme.   And as a special treat to all of you planning to attend myself and the rest of the the team will be doing a Q and A session post screening.    You lucky people!   And here's the link if you want to purchase tickets. See you there!           Film summary:    A film shot in 1957 at the Maudsley Hospital, London, captures children under observation for atypical behaviour. In the present day, three autistic respondents watch the footage, offering new and insightful interpretations of the children’s actions. Through speculation and identification, with wit and audacity, the responses forge a new soundtrack from an autistic point of view.

 Just a wee reminder that news regarding where you can see AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF is coming soon!

 The first review - from Robin Hellgren at ShortStick Films - is in and here it is:    

A quick - and rather exciting - update on AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF - the documentary I provided a commentary for last year . I've just found out that it has won the Best International Short Documentary Award at the Toronto Hot Docs Festival.       I'm speechless (which anyone who knows me will know is a rarity) and very overwhelmed. Hopefully there'll be more festival showings upcoming. And you can watch the trailer here .

If anyone's been wondering what the project I've been involved with of over the last few months was and why I've been swanning off to London so often, well wonder no more. I was one of the three respondents providing a commentary for Professor Janet Harbord's short film/video essay AUTISM PLAYS ITSELF - a film that asks the question of how films made in clinical settings have contributed to how autism has been medically imagined and defined across the past seventy years and quite honestly it's been one of the most incredible, moving and emotional projects I've ever had the privilege to be involved in. There's more information here and I'll no doubt be posting updates when I can!