Autism and Spreading Awareness

Alternative title…You Never Know When Good Things Happen

What does that mean?

In other words, it means you never when something you did in the past will come back and add some good to the world, have an impact, be noticed, and be appreciated for work that can help to spread autism awareness.

What happened?

I was contacted in March by a person affiliated with a film festival in Miami, Florida.

The film festival is officially called the 2018 NAMI Reel Minds Miami Mental Health Awareness Film Festival.

NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness, the organization hosting the festival. This is their third film festival in as many years, and the festival is appropriately taking place in the month of May, since May is Mental Health Month. In other words, it a newer festival but with a name.

The festival takes place on Sunday, May 20^th at the University of Miami.

So, why was I contacted?

A few years ago I wrote and produced a short film called, “Autism and Cake.”

The festival officials saw my film and liked it. After that, they wanted permission to show it at their festival.

In addition, they also wanted an interview to accompany the film.

It felt great.

This is a prestigious film festival in the mental health field, and I felt honored that they want to feature my short film.

What’s the film about?

“Autism and Cake” is about how a grandfather (played by Ed Asner) relates to his grandson who has autism.

The story reflects several themes—a child with autism who struggles in certain situations, autism awareness, and generational gaps.

For instance, it balances various relationships (grandfather-grandson, mother-son, grandfather-peers, and even Temple Grandin in a social setting!)

Above all, the film is about acceptance. What’s a family to do if they don’t accept a diagnosis or even fail to accept an individual within their family due to their diagnosis?

The story brings together two people who learn to understand each other on different levels—they learn how to accept each other.

The talented people

The film features many talented people.

Edward Asner – Actor

Tracy Wren – Director and Producer

Stephen V. Alba – Producer and Actor

Lauren Katz – Actor

Edmund Chase – Actor

Edith Fields – Actor

Marvin Kaplan – Actor

And many more.

However, even though we had a great cast and film makers, the film was written and shot in less than a month.

It all came together fast.

In other words, it was a fantastic experience that brought together people who all tried to make a difference.

I’m so pleased the film reaches people to help support autism awareness.

NAMI

It’s great that the folks at NAMI Reel Minds think so highly of it.

In conclusion, it’s about Autism and the spread of autism awareness.

Here’s information on the 2018 NAMI Reel Minds Film Festival:

https://namimiami.org/2018-film-festival/

Here’s the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxqaP65rVX0

Published by Kimberly Kaplan

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