Mum I'm on the Telly.

We have it all on Film

Hello World!!!!
Been so busy I have neglected all this blogging.
Nevermind.
I'm just another blogger now and dont have to do it for a living.
Just come back from Melbourne.
I traveled there to film the culmination of our documentary.
Mark is a dream subject an a wonderful human being.
He is also visually impaired and has AS.
Documentary making is full of ethical questions.
I was worried that Mark was going to die from the stress of going to Melbourne.
I am still worried that after all that excitement how will he ever come down to earth gently?
The trip was a huge success although we will remain tight lipped about actual events until after the program is aired.
Needless to say SBS is very interested in the film.
Now we have the enormous task of editing all the footage.
Will construct a trailer first up.
I feel that this will be a winner.
Ill keep you posted.

Rainman goes to Rockwiz

I have some wonderful students this year.
One of them is a very interesting bloke who is visually impaired and also has Aspergers syndrome.
He has this amazing ability.
He can tell you the top 5 songs from any week from about 1970 to 1995.
He is really smart, positive and personable yet he has never really had a full time job.
The guy is 38 and has never had a real payday.
I believe this is a dreadful failure of our society.
Did I mention that although he has only 20 % vision he is a master of Illustrator and Photoshop?
He has applied for hundreds of jobs but no one will let him get a foot in the door.
Any way on a whim I sent an email to Rockwiz the SBS show. I think I used the words -The rain man of the Australian Music charts, and with in half an hour the main guy is on the phone saying he'd love to get him on the show.
Which poses me with the next problem.
Rockwiz is in Melbourne.
So we will have to raise a bit of money to send this guy down.
Everyone is excited about the prospect but it doesn't seem like anyone wants to front the cash to get him (and probably me) down there.
I'm thinking this might also be a cool little doco especially if he wins.
There isnt any prize but it would just be cool and maybe some one watching would give the guy a break.
Making a documentary is so much work and hassle.
I am still recovering from the last effort so I really want to be sure I want to commit to this.
What do you think?

The Big Night

You may or may not remember I've been making a film with my beautiful and clever wife.
As well as working 2 jobs and all the political stuff.
I MUST LEARN TO SAY NO!
Any way we had the premiere the other night.
Opened by thee Mayor who made a big speech and then racked off.
I gave a speech too in a packed theater.
It actually made sense and seemed funny and humble.
I couldnt look at my wife coz she was crying.
Anyway I sat through the film which was hard as i was so nervous.
There was something in the theater before us so I didn't get a chance to test the disk etc.
It played all the way through thank God!!!
So there was a bout a hundred people and they cheered and clapped at the end.
Big time.
Outside at the drinkies after party I was a bit like the anointed one.
Women were hugging and kissing me.
Men were crying and shaking my hand -it was all overwhelming.
I was grateful they liked it and we hadn't done the wrong thing.
We had told our story and their story too.
My boss was there and she loved and seemed to understand why I was so stressed out.
My professional filmmaker friend was there too.
He said it was great but was cagey about helping us polish it up to get it on TV.
He is trying to do a project on the same subject which is perhaps the source of his reluctance?
Dont get me wrong.
He's a good man but his business is to find other peoples stories.
I'm a happy amateur.
The word comes from the French amore: To love.
I did this film for love.
For the love of my son who was so cruelly bullied at school and for all the other Asperger kids through out the ages.
That is the point of the film .
That we need human diversity to survive.
Political, religious,philosophical, sexual and neurological.
We need different views and skills and ideas.
Look through out history.
The most vibrant places are the most diverse.
Ancient Rome, Renaissance Venice, Victorian London, Modern New York.
All melting pots.
Fascism and communism sell the same idea.
Strength through unity.
Nature proves this to be untrue.
The monoculture is weak and is swept away by a single infection or tiny bug.
The web of Natures God is vast,complex and intertwined.
Remember this always Grasshopper!

Courage is a Telescope

About to start a new project- a little doco on Aspergers Syndrome which my son has.
It's a very interesting type of Autism.
Some might might say it's just a different way of looking at the world.
Humans tend to persecute any body who's different.
At school is the worst.
They will seek out and exterminate anyone who is a bit left of centre.
You remember the wierd kid who got hassled all the time.
I think back to my school days, there was a kid called Leo Mensen who probably had it. Couldn't socialize and spent every lunchtime by him self.
I never hurt him but other kids teased him mercilessly.
I wonder what he does now?
My partner is running these workshops for a whole bunch of these kids and I am filming it.
We will get some talking heads as well but mostly try and capture what it is like to perceive the world they way they do.
Of course lots of famous people probably had Aspergers- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison and maybe Bill Gates.
So maybe we need difference to move forward as a species?
I suspect having a whole bunch of hyper intelligent kids with no social skills may be like having a whole bunch of cats in a bag should make for interesting footage nevertheless