Autism and Spreading Awareness

You Never Know When Something Will Come Up.

What does that mean?

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 trying to spread 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.

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

So, why was I contacted?

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

The folks running the festival had seen my film and liked it. They wanted permission to show it at their festival. They also wanted an interview to accompany the film.

And, yes, that feels really great. This is a prestigious film festival in the mental health field, and I feel 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) finds a way to relate to his grandson who has autism. The story reflects several themes—a child with autism who struggles in situations, autism awareness, generational gaps, and balances various relationships (grandfather-grandson, mother-son, grandfather-peers, and even Temple Grandin in a social setting!)

At its crux, 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—thus accepting each other.

The film features many talents:

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. The film was written and shot in less than a month and was a fantastic experience that brought together so many people who were trying to make a difference.

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

And, that the folks at NAMI Reel Minds think so highly of it.

It’s about Autism and Spreading Awareness.

(You can Google “Autism and Cake” to find the film.)