Autism: The Musical

Autism: The Musical is an independent documentary film directed by Tricia Regan. In April 2007, the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. The film recounts six months of the lives of five children who are on the autism spectrum in Los Angeles, California as they write and rehearse for an original stage production.

Autism: The Musical
Promotional poster
Directed byTricia Regan
Written byTricia Regan
Produced byTricia Regan
Sasha Alpert
Perrin Chiles
StarringHenry Stills
Joseph Rainbow
Wyatt O' Neil
Neal Goldberg
Adam Walden
Cody Massey
Shane Doherty
CinematographyTricia Regan
Edited byKim Roberts
Music byMike Semple
Production
company
Bunim/Murray Productions
Distributed byHBO Documentary Films
Release date
  • April 18, 2007 (2007-04-18)[1]
Running time
94 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

The film recounts six months in the 2005-06 lives of five autistic children and their parents in Los Angeles, California as their children write and rehearse for an original stage production.[2] The children featured in the film have one or more things they excel at doing if only given the training they need to communicate and develop those skills.

Several of the parents appearing in the film are well known in their own right, such as Rosanne Katon-Walden, her husband Richard M Walden, and Stephen Stills. They and the other parents round out a cast of real-life parents struggling with their strained marriages while dealing with the sometimes overwhelming needs of their children with autism.

Production

An idea for the film was first raised in July 2005, as a potential 48 Hour Film Project, but did not materialize.[3] However, in that same year, noted acting coach Elaine Hall founded The Miracle Project, a nonprofit, Sherman Oaks, California based theater group for children with autism and other disabilities.[4] In late 2005, Tricia Regan began filming the six-month rehearsal process at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services recreation room in Los Angeles.[5] Regan is said to have collected more than 400 hours of raw material, winnowing the documentary to five complementary family narratives. The title of the film emerged only in the late stages of editing.

In March 2007, reality show producers Bunim/Murray Productions expanded its business into films and made Autism: The Musical its first acquisition.[6] Bunim/Murray Productions came on board toward the end of shooting to join In Effect Films in producing the film.

Distribution

After its premiere on April 18, 2007 at Robert De Niro's sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival,[1] the film enjoyed a limited theatrical run in several US cities in 2007.[7] Among its many awards, the film received the best documentary award at the 10th annual Newport International Film Festival in June 2007.[8] The film was purchased for broadcast beginning March 25, 2008 by HBO.[7]

The film was released on DVD in 2008 by Docurama Films.

Accolades

On November 19, 2007, Autism: The Musical was named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of 15 films on its documentary feature Oscar short list. The film has won awards at 7 major film festivals in the U.S.[9][10] Following its television broadcast on HBO, the film garnered two 2008 Emmy awards, for nonfiction film editing as well as Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

Sequel

On April 2, 2020, it was announced that a sequel titled Autism: The Sequel will premiere on April 28, 2020.[11]

See also
  • List of films about Autism
  • Autism spectrum disorders in the media
  • Stanley Greenspan – His floortime approach to engage autism inspired Elaine Hall to create The Miracle Project, the subject of Autism: The Musical.[4]

References
  1. Holden, Stephen (April 20, 2007). "Feast of Serious Cinema; Partygoers Welcome". The New York Times. p. E1.
  2. Page, Janice. (November 17, 2007) Boston Globe "Look at autism sings by playing it straight". Section: LivingArts; Page 5C.
  3. Hair, Margaret. (July 22, 2005) Greensboro News & Record. Reel Fast: Films created in 48 Hours. Page D1.
  4. Ricci, James. (December 31, 2007) Los Angeles Times. New Approach Aids Autistic Children's Rite of Passage.
  5. Hart, Hugh. (March 23, 2008) The New York Times A Season of Song, Dance and Autism. Section: AR; Page 20.
  6. Adalian, Josef. (March 19, 2007) Variety Reality firm stalks docs. Section: News; Page 1.
  7. Steven Zeitchik (2007-06-06). "'Autism: The Musical' to HBO - Entertainment News, Los Angeles, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  8. Janusonis, Michael. (June 12, 2007) Providence Journal Bulletin. Winners of Newport International Film Festival named. Section: Lifebeat; Page F1.
  9. The Washington Post. 2007-11-19 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/19/AR2007111901490.html. Retrieved 2017-09-20. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. The Hollywood Reporter Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Video: "Autism: The Sequel" - Official Trailer - HBO". The Futon Critic. April 2, 2020.

Further reading
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