Sponsored by Autism Tissue Program/Autism Speaks; San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, Autism Society of America; Parents Helping Parents Autism/PDD Support Group; Palo Alto Unified Special Education Department/CAC; Palo Alto Council or PTA’s; Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital/Stanford University; Peninsula Parents of Special Needs Kids; Friends of Children with Special Needs; City of San Jose, Department of Parks & Recreation, Office of Therapeutic Services.

This unique film festival is part of Brain Awareness Week (BAW), a series of events held around the world in collaboration with the Society for Neuroscience to increase public awareness about the brain and the importance of basic neuroscience research.  Free materials on autism and the brain and the Autism Tissue Program will be available in the theater lobby.

About the films:

AUTISM THE MUSICAL - Named as one of the 2007 Documentary Feature Oscar Short List, “Autism, The Musical” is an upbeat and moving documentary about putting on a musical for, with and by autistic children.  It centers on a group of five autistic children who are given the chance to explore their creativity by putting on a musical under the instruction of a pro acting coach.  Eloquently attesting to the transformative power of theater, Autism the Musical, “proves as riveting as it is revelatory”, according to Variety. 

HER NAME IS SABINE ELLE S’APPELLE SABINE - In French with English subtitles.  This movie is a beautiful and moving portrait of Sabine, a 38 year old woman with autism, filmed by her sister, the internationally famous French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. Through personal footage filmed over a period of 25 years, it is revealed that Sabine’s growth and many talents were crushed by improper diagnosis and an inadequate care structure.  This sensitive documentary and recent winner at the Cannes Film Festival shows the dramatic consequences, not only of improper diagnosis and inadequate care structure, but the need for specialized alternatives to institutionalization.

TODAY’S MAN - Nicky Gottlieb was a child of extraordinary talents and odd behavior.  At age 21, he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism.  TODAY’S MAN follows Nicky over the course of six years as he struggles to leave the safety of his family’s home and finds his own place in the world.  Lizzy Gottlieb, Nicky’s sister who filmed him states, “When you meet Nicky, you might find him offensive and rude, or charming and quirky, or brilliant and adorable, or aggressively intrusive.  It is my hope that this film could explain Nicky and those like him to people who might otherwise write him off, take offense or become angered by him.

THE THIRD PARENT - This award winning short documentary is an honest, impassioned and touching look at familial love and duty from the rare perspective of an 11 year old sibling.  The relationship between the 11-year old girl and her autistic five-year old brother and the impact a disabled child has on family dynamics and emerging adolescent are presented.

REFRIGERATOR MOTHER’S - From the 1950’s through the early 1970’s the American medical establishment thought it knew the cause of autism: poor mothering.  Doctors presumed that the bizarre behaviors, rigid rituals, difficulty with speech and extreme self-isolation stemmed from their mothers’ emotional frigidity.  We now know that autism is a neurological disorder.  Winner of the Best Documentary at the Sedona International Film Festival, this film explores the psychological toll on the mothers of autistic children and their fight to overcome the shame of this diagnosis.