Imagining Change Film Series: Autism Media Lab Short Docs Screening

About the films (total runtime 42 minutes):

what Billy couldn’t say: This chronicle of a death foretold shares the tragic story of Billy, a severely autistic young man who was let down by every system designed to support him. Coming from a family that couldn’t pay for private insurance Billy never received the care he needed. The cheapest and quickest option left on the table was the use of heavy psychotropic medications. At the age of 18, Billy died of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome a cardiac arrest caused by overmedication. This film explores the connection between poverty and poor health care and how it can lead to a catastrophic ending, particularly when the patient is disabled and non-speaking.

Let Me Explain: Police encounters are the worst nightmare for most people with Autism and their families. What could happen when the police start giving you direct orders and your body does not allow you to follow those directions? Built-up out of disturbing archival footage and a unique behind the scenes look at LAPD Autism Awareness Training, Let Me Explain takes a hard and deep look into the increasing interactions between police and people with autism, some of which go terribly wrong.

Inside the Frame: The behind the scenes documentary Inside the Frame provides an honest and heartfelt account of the difficulties students, autistic self-advocates, and faculty of the Autism Media Lab faced as they tried to practice inclusion both behind and in front of the camera.

About the Autism Media Lab

The 2019 Autism Media Lab was the inaugural lab of the UCLA Disability Studies Inclusion Labs. The Autism Media Lab explored barriers to inclusion for persons with autism through a unique fusion of disability studies and documentary film. In this unique two-quarter course, UCLA undergraduate students were learning directly from non-speaking, minimally-speaking, or unreliably-speaking individuals with autism as Community Teachers. Together, they filmed short documentaries that explored how autistic people navigate communication barriers in various community settings.

About the “Imagining Change” Film Series

“Imagining Change” is a virtual series sponsored by Repair and UCLA Disability Studies.

As we navigate urgent public health, racial and economic challenges, we recognize a continuing need for education and dialogue about vital social questions. “Imagining Change: Film and Dialogue About Disability, Racism, Violence, Gender and Power” engages issues of disability, race and racism, healthcare, violence, policing and incarceration, economic justice, law and policy, gender and sexual politics, protest, and social change.

Image Description: Blue background with a reel of film unraveling. On the right, the film strip has light breaking through it and highlighting the words “Imagining Change”. On the top left in a smaller font are the words “A film series on disability, race, mental health, policing, social change, and more”.