Neurotypical

Chapel Hill TEACCH Center screening!

2012-01-25T20:24:00.002-05:00

Save the dates!

FEBRUARY 11th, 2012 AT 10:00AM
And
FEBRUARY 25th, 2012 AT 10:00AM

Join us in a Chapel Hill TEACCH Fundraiser to benefit persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families while learning about the perspective of people on the Autism Spectrum.

LOCATION AND TICKET PRICE DETAILS TO COME!

!! Happy New Year !!

2011-12-31T12:51:00.001-05:00

It has been an incredible year. Screenings in Thessaloniki, Vancouver, NYC, Albany, Asheville and over $5000 raised for TEACCH from our last two fundraisers!

If you haven't seen Neurotypical yet, we have upcoming screenings in Boone & Durham, NC. Or better yet, organize a Neurotypical screening/fundraiser of your own!

And, we will have a DVD soon - we promise!

We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for your support!

AB Tech - Screening!

2011-11-15T18:04:00.002-05:00

If you didn't get a chance to see Neurotypical at the Asheville Fine Arts Theatre, join us this Wednesday, November 30 at 6:30PM at the Ferguson Auditorium on the AB Tech (Asheville campus) for another screening to benefit the Asheville TEACCH Center's scholarship fund!

Special thanks to Ana Soto for organizing this!

Ferguson Auditorium
AB Tech, Asheville Campus
November 30, 2011 - 6:30pm
Free with AB Tech student ID
Tickets for all others $5 at the door (cash only)

TEACCH fundraiser success!!

2011-09-24T09:23:00.002-04:00

I'm going to use a lot of caps, so please forgive me :-)

The screenings in Asheville were amazing! We couldn't have asked for a better turn out - completely sold out on Thursday night and over 200 (out of 250 tickets) on a Saturday morning!

And to top it all, we raised almost $4000 for TEACCH!!

Thank you all!!!

Asheville, NC - screening!

2011-09-09T12:47:00.002-04:00

Join us this Thursday, September 15 at 7:00PM and Saturday, September 17 at 10:30AM at theFine Arts Theatre in Asheville, NC for a screening to benefit the Asheville TEACCHCenter's scholarship fund!

It's wonderful for Neurotypical to come home to Asheville where it all started!

Asheville Fine Arts Theatre
September 15, 2011 - 7:00pm
& September 17, 2011 - 10:30
36 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
828-232-1536 / info@fineartstheatre.com
Tickets are $10

The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio

2011-08-20T14:34:00.011-04:00

This past Thursday, Neurotypical was screened at The Linda, WAMC's Performing Arts Studio in Albany as part of their "Food For Thought, evening of socially relevant cinema" series.

We unfortunately were unable to attend, but Maddi, who appears in the film, was there and joined in the talkback. Way to go Maddi!

The reviews are in!

2011-07-25T08:02:00.015-04:00

It was a rainy night in Brooklyn so Neurotypical's US Premiere was held indoors instead of under the stars. Even still, it was an incredibly memorable evening; great response, talkback and our first reviews!

Check them out:

http://www.filmmonthly.com/now_playing/neurotypical.html

http://drivemomcrazy.com/2011/a-review-neurotypical-the-movie

USA Premiere - Rooftop Films Summer Series

2011-06-23T12:15:00.024-04:00

Join us Friday, July 8 at 9:00PM on the lawn at the Automotive High School in Williamsburg! (50 Bedford Ave. at North 13th St., Brooklyn)

Doors open - 8:00PM / Live music - 8:30PM

Film begins - 9:00PM / Q&A with director Adam Larsen - 10:30PM

After party - 11:30PM at Matchless (557 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn)

Canadian Premiere!

2011-05-12T11:23:00.002-04:00

Another screening under our belt! This past Monday afternoon (despite the inopportune time slot), Neurotypical played to a crowded house at the DOXA Documentary Festival. This screening was particularly memorable for two reasons. One, we experienced our first english speaking audience and two, Adam Lando, joined us for an amazing Q&A after the film. Ironically, we had just met Adam's mother, Marianne Kaplan, in Thessaloniki where her film about Adam, The Boy Inside, was being screened. After Neurotypical, Adam shared his perspective about Asperger's and his burgeoning rap career.

DOXA Documentary Film Festival

2011-04-08T18:32:00.005-04:00

Join us in Vancouver at DOXA, May 9 at 1PM!

"A remarkably cinematic film that often recalls the work of Terrence Malick in its treatment of the natural world, Neurotypical possesses a deep respect for the people it profiles. Indeed, Larsen's lens finds unending fascination in his subjects while tracking them in their day-to-day lives — whether it's a guy trying to get a date, a toddler's stroll in the woods, or a ride to the local skate park that radiates pure boyish joy, each individual navigates their own path through a world that is both bewildering and beautiful. With intelligence and care, Neurotypical carves out a more expansive idea of what it means to be human."

WAAD

2011-04-02T14:33:00.014-04:00

Happy World Autism Awareness (and Acceptance) Day!!

We have exciting news that we can't announce for another week, so here are a couple of updates about people we love!

Violet, Vijay, and Charlie were featured in a wonderful article about acceptance on the site Eco Child's Play.

And, Paula Durbin-Westby has been busy at autism NOW, an amazing resource for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.

Congrats and keep up the great work!

What a wonderful week!

2011-03-20T17:35:00.013-04:00

It's hard to describe the culmination of almost 4 years of work. "Thrilling" will have to do!

Neurotypical premiered to a packed house in Thessaloniki last Saturday - with Greek subtitles! The audience was engaged, laughed and cried at all the right parts, and most stayed for the Q&A afterwards. Amazing! It was humbling to be in the company of so many remarkable documentaries, each striving to educate and push for change. We can only hope that all future festivals for Neurotypical will be as memorable.

In many ways Thessaloniki is more of a beginning for Neurotypical than a conclusion. It marks the start of a dialogue toward the recognition of neurodiversity.

Oh, one more thing you might find interesting. While we didn't come home with any awards (which is besides the point), Neurotypical was 10th out of 98 films for the foreign feature audience award! Just saying...

Colr

2011-02-28T08:21:00.005-05:00

First, we need to thank you all! Things are definitely ratcheting up as we prepare for Thessaloniki. Your generous contributions are helping us get there! Through the fundraiser we connected with Joe Wenkoff, Eric Barnett, and Gerry Legros - the Toronto based team of Colr at Topix who color corrected and mastered Neurotypical!

I just returned from Toronto and I can say without question, Neurotypical has never looked better! All we need is an audience!!

Variety

2011-02-11T06:30:00.011-05:00

Neurotypical got a great mention in Variety yesterday!

Thessaloniki focuses on disabilities

Docu lineup linked to Special Olympics

by Will Tizard

PRAGUE -- Thessaloniki's docufest unveiled a lineup Thursday featuring a strong showing of U.S. pics in its celebration of work keyed to the Athens Special Olympics later this year.

Tribute to work that explores disabilities, the lifestyles and the misunderstandings surrounding them, will include 30 pics such as the world preem of Adam Larsen's offbeat "Neurotypical," the word autistic people use to describe those without the syndrome, and "Embraceable," a look at the joyfulness of Williams syndrome sufferers.

Lizzie Gottlieb's "Today's Man" considers the often overlooked dimensions of adult life for people with Asperger's, while "For Once in My Life," helmed by Jim Bigham and Mark Moormann, is an engaging look at The Spirit of Goodwill Band, consisting of 28 members with mental and physical disabilities who show off the transformative power of music.

Michel Orion Scott's "The Horse Boy" follows a journey through Inner Mongolia by a couple hoping to cure their 5-year-old son of autism, while "Living with Fragile X," by Kathy Elder and Greg Mishey, chronicles lives touched by a little-known genetic syndrome that in many ways emulates autism.

Fest launches March 11-20 with a docu workshop led by the European Documentary Network intended to foster emerging filmmaker voices from the region.

World Premiere!

2011-02-01T18:55:00.008-05:00

It's official! Neurotypical will premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

What's even more exciting is that the festival is including Neurotypical as part of a tribute to the Special Olympics which will be held in Athens in June.

We are honored to debut the film for such a worthwhile cause!

No, Yes, Maybe...

2010-12-30T16:49:00.005-05:00

So, first the bad news - no luck with Sundance. The only heartening thing is we're in good company (only 16 documentaries were chosen out of 841).

Uggh, ok some good news - we're committed more than ever to getting the film out there! You may have noticed our new trailer.

Also, we've submitted Neurotypical to a few more festivals: DOXA Documentary Film Festival, Hot Springs Documentary Festival, London International Documentary Festival, Nashville Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival, Sheffield Docu/Fest, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, Silverdocs and Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival.

Last, if you feel the spirit, we're working to raise $12,000 to help us achieve these goals:

• Travel expenses for the makers and participants in the film to facilitate dialogue wherever Neurotypical is shown.

  • Professional sound mix and color correction to enhance the sensory impact of the film.

  • High Resolution festival dubs (believe it or not, these professional copies run $250 a pop).

Donations are tax-deductible: www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/1062

  A heartfelt thanks to all for your participation as we work to complete this important project!

Film festivals, here we go!

2010-11-05T09:25:00.012-04:00

I never knew submitting to film festivals could be so much work! Don't uncross your fingers yet.

Here's a list of the festivals we have entered so far (hopefully we'll get into one near you): Ann Arbor Film Festival, Appalachian Film Festival, Ashland Independent Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Hot Docs, Independent Film Festival of Boston, Little Rock Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, Traverse City Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, True/False Film Festival.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

2010-09-22T11:28:00.013-04:00

Keep your fingers crossed. We just sent a copy of Neurotypical to Sundance (along with probably 1000 others). :-)

Finally!!

2010-09-06T13:27:00.016-04:00

Exciting news - Neurotypical can now officially be called a rough cut! After 3 ½ years and 40 interviews later, we edited nearly 80 hours of footage down to a 1 ½ hour film. So it took a little longer than our August deadline, but whose counting? We can't wait share it with you!

A Simple Sound

2010-07-05T11:55:00.008-04:00

Nearly halfway to finishing a rough cut, but no film is complete without a score. Today Michael Wall, an amazing multi-instrumentalist and composer, agreed to create the music for Neurotypical. Very cool because now we have someone to collaborate with!

Snip Snip

2010-06-05T10:29:00.005-04:00

True to my word, we are back at it with Neurotypical (but not before accepting projects in Buenos Aires, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Calgary, and again Beijing). The next two months belong to Neurotypical! The goal is a rough cut by before August.

Wind Up Bird

2010-01-11T16:39:00.002-05:00

Every time we gain a little momentum another project rears it's head. At least this one is worth it - The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I promised myself that we would finish Neurotypical by the end of the year. We will!

...footage, footage and more footage...

2009-12-13T20:52:00.005-05:00

Now comes the fun part (if you call sitting in front of a computer for weeks "fun")!! So far, we have accumulated approximately 80 hours of footage that needs to compressed into 90-120 minutes of solid gold. But first, the footage needs to be logged, sorted, and categorized. I have a feeling that we have A LOT more than 120 minutes of gold!

Beijing

2009-10-20T11:34:00.004-04:00

I have been in China for the past month. Wow - but I can't wait to get back to Neurotypical!

The Short Bus

2009-06-27T11:13:00.002-04:00

NPR has been an amazing resource for Neurotypical! I recently heard Jonathan Mooney talk about his book, the Short Bus and knew we needed to connect. Jonathan is a dyslexic writer and activist who did not learn to read until he was 12 years old. After a spirited game of phone tag, we finally were able to chat. Brilliant!

Charlottesville and Morganton

2009-05-20T14:01:00.007-04:00

A new twist! We've been struggling to find the "glue" for the content within the film, and I think we may finally have it! Because most of our footage is in the form of interviews (amazing interviews at that), we feel it's essential for there to be a visceral "thread" to help make connections between those interviews. Something that moves (because an hour and a half of talking heads could be deadly). So... we've decided to structure the film as a triptych by following three individuals on the spectrum. Part one will focus on Violet, 3; part two, Nicholas, 14; and part three, Paula, whom we filmed earlier. Fortunately they were all willing, close by, and, guess what? We filmed them last week!

Baltimore

2009-01-20T19:03:00.004-05:00

Back once again in the DC area (Baltimore to be exact) to pick up a few interviews we missed. And thank goodness we did! Wolf, Katie and Sasha were all amazing. Editing is going to be tough! So much incredible material to work with.

Social Group

2008-12-01T13:37:00.005-05:00

This past week we met with Sean M., Perry, Sydney, Daniel, and Sean B. who all participate in a weekly social group gatherings (organized by the wonderful, Irene). Not only was it great to hear the perspectives of young adults, but it was nice to see everyone interact in a social environment.

DC Take 2

2008-11-10T09:41:00.008-05:00

Back to DC, where we met with Autistic Self Advocacy Network board member, Paula Durbin-Westby - wonderfully insightful and inspiring! Then we managed to land an interview Tony Attwood who was in town for a conference. We're still not sure if we want to include neurotypicals in the film. Maybe in the "extra features" on the DVD? Who knows!

I Can Read You Like a Book

2008-10-30T08:09:00.003-04:00

I heard Greg Hartley speak on NPR about his new book on body language. Greg is a former Army interrogator who translated his expertise in body language and human behavior to everyday life. Fascinating conversation about the "human spectrum".

Dinner

2008-09-30T12:40:00.004-04:00

This past weekend we hosted and filmed a dinner party for 12 in Asheville. Great food and conversation (in an impromptu setting). Up until this point, our footage has mostly been interviews. It's nice to finally break that mold. I can see this going somewhere!

What an incredible week!

2008-09-20T17:40:00.003-04:00

So no luck in landing a distribution deal, but IFP's Independent Film Week was amazing nonetheless. It was incredibly exciting to be in the company of so many talented filmmakers and industry members. And we did manage to meet with HBO. Who knows?!

IFP Independent Film Week

2008-07-20T11:29:00.003-04:00

Neurotypical was 1 of 70 films (out of 600) selected to participate in the Spotlight on Documentaries section during IFP's Independent Film Week in NYC this September. Spotlight on Documentaries is an opportunity to pitch Neurotypical to potential investors, festivals and distributors. Wish us luck!

Soooo busy...

2008-01-05T15:53:00.007-05:00

...unfortunately not with the film. Just finished another project in DC and one in Atlanta. Next, I'm off to Toronto, then back NYC, Atlanta and finally Honolulu. If you didn't know, my "day job" is as a projection designer. I create video projections for live performance (theatre, dance, opera). Check out my work: www.hum-bar.com! Lot's of travel and lots of fun, and easy to get sidetracked from Neurotypical. But I do have to make money to pay for the shoots, don't I?

Mishmash

2007-10-03T19:45:00.006-04:00

Sometimes life takes over in a major way. No notable updates about the film BECAUSE in September, I got married. Good excuse, eh? Oh, and two days ago was my birthday. And I've got to make some money, so off to projects in DC, Philly, and NYC... We'll get back to the film soon, I promise.

Chicago

2007-07-28T17:49:00.007-04:00

We've finally broken away from the East Coast! Michael John Carley put us in touch GRASP's Chicago chapter and a number of amazing individuals responded; John, Ben, Wendi, and Jack. Only this time I was all by myself (lights, sound, camera & interview). Whew!

Boston and Fort Walton

2007-06-30T10:34:00.007-04:00

This week we managed to expand our shoot both north and south along the East Coast. First, we met with friends, Kassiane and Stephen, who were participating in a conference at the Boston Higashi School. Then, a long trek down to Florida to talk to Suzanne. Remarkable stories and footage while wading in a swamp!

DC and New York

2007-04-30T18:03:00.006-04:00

Wonderful interviews with Roy Richard Grinker, author of Unstrange Minds, and Professor of Anthropology, Human Sciences and International Affairs at the George Washington University; and Michael John Carley, founder and Executive Director of GRASP, the largest organization comprised of adults on the autism spectrum.

Let the filming begin!

2007-03-03T12:46:00.004-05:00

This past week marked the official start for Neurotypical - our first 3 interviews; John, Dave and Karen. It feels good to finally put something "in the can" after thinking about it for so long. I have a feeling the official end is going to be much more difficult to pinpoint.

We need your help!

2007-02-28T14:22:00.001-05:00

Since neurotypicals make up the crew of the documentary Neurotypical, we are appealing to the autistic population for a dialog relating to the film’s content as it unfolds. It is precisely this discussion that will give form and meaning to this project. Please consider but don’t limit yourself to answering the following questions:

-What thoughts would you like to convey to the audience about the challenges associated with having autism?

-What are your strengths and interests and how do you express them in your daily life?

-What has been most helpful to you as you’ve grown into adulthood?

-What do you consider to have been least helpful or even detrimental to your overall growth from childhood?

-Are there additional subjects/topics you are interested in discussing?

We welcome this opportunity for an exchange.