​Autism community happy with internationally recognised Kiwi short film

An AUT graduate's short film about autism has received the Jury Choice Award at a prestigious international diversity film festival.

Anna, which is based around the everyday struggles of an autistic woman, gained the approval of the jury at the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase held in Cannes, France last month.

Tanya Catterall works at Autism New Zealand, running its Way to Play workshops that help parents and schools learn how to interact and play with autistic children.

She worked with AUT graduate Harriett Maire to make sure the central character was a realistic representation of a person with autism.

“We were thrilled to be a part of it because Harriett was very keen to get it right . . . to make it real.”

Ms Catterall said the media generally represent the disability as either savants like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man or “people rocking in the corner who have no language”.

“There’s a lot of people with autism who have great IT careers or they’re out there working and they’re in relationships and they’re doing the best they can. And we don’t see a lot of that.”

According to Ms Catterall, who has a daughter with autism, Anna is special because it shows somebody with autism just going about their life.

“It’s not as glamorous and sexy as somebody who’s a savant and can count the number of matchsticks that fall on the floor.”

Ms Catterall appreciates that the film highlights a problem people with autism have to face.

“I think the general public is pretty low functioning at understanding and accepting difference. I think that’s our problem, not people with autism.

“It’s fairly easy to make a film about someone who’s gifted and everything, but it’s the day-to-day reality of somebody living with autism.”

For the people who made the film, Anna helped them reach a new understanding of the disability and the people who have it.

“I just thought what a nice way to make the film mean something is to give representation to a group that doesn’t usually get representation in TV and film,” Ms Maire said.

Phoebe Jeurissen, the short film’s producer, said she left the production with a “more worldly” understanding of autism.

“And that’s why I think our film is a success because it’s an empathetic film.”

Geneva Norman, the actress who plays Anna, said via email that she “had never engaged with the idea that autism is a spectrum, and that everyone is on that spectrum somewhere”.

A young woman with autism, Gabby Hogg, has seen the film and said it affected her emotionally. “I'm in tears now, I could totally relate to it,” she told Te Waha Nui in an email.

Ms Catterall said the impact of such a film being made shouldn't be underestimated. “Just a simple story like that, if it can just make one person think, ‘Oh, OK, maybe I have to be a little more open-minded to people’s differences’. I think that’s a huge thing.”