Jerry Rothwell | UK / USA
82 min | Feature | Partial Subtitles
Supported by Art Not Shame
Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.
Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distils these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.
JERRY ROTHWELL - Director Jerry Rothwell is a filmmaker whose work includes the award winning feature documentaries: How to Change the World, about the founders of Greenpeace which premiered at Sundance and was the winner of a Grierson Award in 2017; Sour Grapes , about the biggest wine fraud in history, produced for Netflix and Arte; Town of Runners , about two girls in an Ethiopian village who aspire to be athletes; Donor Unknown, which premiered at Tribeca FF and followed a sperm donor and his many offspring; Heavy Load, about a group of people with learning disabilities who form a punk band, and Deep Water (co-directed with Louise Osmond), about Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated voyage in the 1968 round the world yacht race.