The adventures of an old-fashioned master cabinet maker in Munich and the tiny red-haired goblin Pumuckl, who becomes visible to him when he gets stuck to the pot of glue in his workshop. The tiny creature is visible to nobody else and full of mischief, and hilarity ensues as objects are seen moving around and the elderly craftsman seems to be talking to thin air.
Through unique artistic approach, the director reveals the world of autism - bringing the audience closer to the main characters - talented and creative children with a fascinating way of thinking.
In 1967, experimental filmmaker Jorgen Leth created a striking short film, The Perfect Human, starring a man and women sitting in a box while a narrator poses questions about their relationship and humanity. Years later, Danish director Lars von Trier made a deal with Leth to remake his film five times, each under a different set of circumstances and with von Trier's strictly prescribed rules. As Leth completes each challenge, von Trier creates increasingly further elaborate stipulations.
The armies of Fascist Italy conquered Addis Ababa, capital of Abyssinia, in May 1936, thus culminating the African colonial adventure of the ruthless dictator Benito Mussolini, by then lord of Libya, Eritrea and Somalia; a bloody and tragic story told through the naive drawings of Pietro Dall'Igna, an Italian schoolboy born in 1925.
After years of going through special needs school, Adrian faces his greatest challenge yet: masking his autism in high school
Jasmin is joy, living in the moment. A 15-year-old boy described as "non-verbal autistic." He communicates through his eyes. He makes sounds, says a word. He constantly sings the rhythm of a song whose lyrics only he knows. A bubble of sweetness and love.
A group of educators led by Fernand Deligny are working to create contact with autistic children in a hamlet of the Cevennes.
The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.
Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have three children who have been diagnosed with autism. In this documentary, they meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum.
Au cœur du Papotin
In this animated documentary, Los Angeles filmmaker Dion Labriola recounts his all-consuming childhood quest to contact his teen idol, Ike Eisenmann - and the magical turn of events that led him toward his goal (some 40 years later).
In Columbus, Ohio, a group of autistic teenagers and young adults role-play this transition by going through the deceptively complex social interactions of preparing for a spring formal. Focusing on several young women as they go through an iconic American rite of passage, we are given intimate access to people who are often unable to share their experiences with others. With humor and heartbreak, How to Dance in Ohio shows the daily courage of people facing their fears and opening themselves to the pain, worry, and joy of the social world.
A journey through the professional life of innovative film director Richard Linklater: 21 years creating films, carving his signature in pop culture; an analysis of his style and motivations, through the funny and moving testimonies of close friends and collaborators, actors and other filmmakers.
Angela has no doubt that "one of these days, father will come back from the outer space to take her away because he is an alien." This thought was instilled by Angela's mother who committed suicide due to severe mental illness. Ever under the watchful eyes of her grandmother and psychiatrist, Angela starts to hear voices from the sky. Weary and scared, the grandmother has no choice but to send Angela for hospitalization. Angela's belief and longing for reunion with her parents grow stronger than ever. Eventually, she takes a leap of faith in finding her own destiny.
In 'Wretches & Jabberers and Stories from the Road', two men with autism embark on a global quest to change prevailing attitudes about disability and intelligence. With limited speech, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, both faced lives of mute isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When they learned as adults to communicate by typing, their lives changed dramatically. Their world tour message is that the same possibility exists for others like themselves. At each stop, they dissect public attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future. Along the way, they reunite with old friends from the USA, expand the isolated world of a talented young painter and make new allies in their cause.
MOLE MAN follows RON, a 66-year-old autistic man who has spent the last five decades building a 50-room structure in his parents' backyard. Using no nails or mortar, Ron instead creates perfectly balanced structures from scavenged materials he finds in the woods outside his Western Pennsylvania home. When Ron's father passes away, leaving him living alone with his 90-year-old mother, Ron's siblings are left to figure out what's best for Ron - who has never been officially diagnosed with autism - when his mother can no longer care for him. In an effort to find the money to keep Ron in his home, his friends team up in search of a mythical mansion Ron insists lays abandoned in the forest. But will they be able to find it? And, more importantly, does it even exist? This is the story of an extraordinary life, a family, and the beauty of thinking differently.
Based on the book by Naoki Higashida, filmmaker Jerry Rothwell examines the lives of five non-speaking, autistic youngsters.
Cho-won is an autistic but happy young man who loves to draw zebras and run. His mother wants him to feel normal by accomplishing a feat that no one thought his son could achieve. With the help of a coach in exile, she trains him to become a marathon runner.
Following the death of a hotelier in Punta del Este, Uruguay, an unexpected inheritance dispute begins. Stallone, an actor with Down syndrome, believes he is the rightful heir to the hotel. On the other side is Magrelo, a young autistic man who was raised as an adopted son by the deceased. Without waiting for the reading of the will, Stallone decides to reunite his old friends with Down syndrome from the institute where they lived in Brazil to spend a week's vacation at the hotel.
Tai-shian is locked away in his own autistic universe, totally lost to the world. His parents spend every day looking after him, rendering Tai-shian’s little sister Debby completely invisible to her parents…until one day, when both parents are gone, and Debby finds a new task thrust upon her.