Documentary opens the doors to autism awareness

To mark world autism awareness day, Justin Thomas encourages readers to see an Abu Dhabi-produced documentary about the condition

Filming “As One”, a new feature-length documentary about Autism directed by Emmy Award-winning director Tricia Regan. Courtesy Image Nation

Even without special effects, cinema can affect us in special ways.

Saturday was world autism awareness day. Part of the awareness-raising activity included a special screening of As One: the Autism Project, a documentary about autism. This Abu Dhabi-produced film debuted 18 months ago and I was fortunate enough to attend the premiere at the Emirates Palace hotel.

Emirates Palace, with its baroque interior decor, is the perfect venue for creating a sense of occasion. The gold, marble and artwork coalesce to form a grandiose spectacle of awe-inspiring opulence. At a premiere, there is also a sumptuous red carpet.

As One is about 10 children with autism who get involved in staging a theatrical musical. It was hoped that the children's involvement in music, dance and comedy would prove enriching and therapeutic.

I suspect that many of the people at the premiere were expecting to see a typical documentary, a film that would explain the difficulties of living with a pervasive developmental disorder. For sure, I was expecting to hear a few experts spewing sound bytes about the cognitive deficits associated with the autistic spectrum.

But no, this was not that type of documentary. As One, as I came to see it, was a love story. It beautifully captured the familial love directed towards these wonderful children. It also gave us a glimpse of the love that the children felt for their families, friends and each other. Furthermore, as the journey unfolded, we saw the formation of deep and meaningful attachments between the children and those involved in teaching them the performing arts.

As the story progresses, the fruits of this love become apparent, with each child blossoming in unique ways. There is growth in confidence, independence, social skills and language; there is the discovery of hidden talents and the birth of new aspirations.

But this growth and transformation is not observed only in the children. We also see the therapists and performance artists slowly being moulded and improved by the experience of working with these children.

The film featured a song, Let Me In, that captured the essence of this mutually beneficial exchange. The song speaks about knocking on doors, entering each other's worlds and ultimately removing the barriers that prevent us from living "as one". The song, composed by Rob Miller and arranged by Idris Phillips, was sung by one of the children, 14-year-old Mohammed Daood. His voice can best be described as heart-meltingly melancholic. The song, the melody and the voice all had a profound effect on the audience. There were a lot of tears. Healing tears, I suspect.

This, for me, was the truly magical aspect of the film. Here was a documentary about performance art as therapy that was itself a therapeutic work of art. I believe all those who saw it were somehow improved by it. For sure, any negative bias or stigma felt towards individuals on the autism spectrum was removed. This was cinema therapy at its very best, changing the way we think and feel, and potentially affecting our future behaviour.

When the film ended, all of the children featured in the film took to the stage for a curtain call. Dressed for the occasion, the children took turns with the microphone, shouting out their names or witty one-liners. When the microphone reached Mohammad Daood, he opened the door of his heart and let his hauntingly beautiful voice fill the auditorium with a verse of the documentary's theme song: “If I knock on your door will you let me in? If I sing you a song will you hear my voice?”

“Yes,” was the emphatic silent response from the audience.

As One is not a big-budget, highly polished blockbuster, but it moved me more than any other movie I've seen in the past few years. It will be screened in some Vox cinemas and on television this week. Don't miss it. Batman v Superman can wait.

Dr Justin Thomas is an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States

On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas